Brother of Fire
by Viper Inferno
Summary: A new character takes the scene in the Sailor Moon Universe as Hino Kyodai, Hino Rei's older brother, moves back into the Hikawa Jinja. Meanwhile, a tuxedoed warrior, Tuxedo Inferno, appears in the middle of a battle.
1. Chapter 1: Introducing Hino Kyodai

Title: Brother of Fire - Chapter 1 (revised)

Author: Viper Inferno

Genre: Action Drama

Rated: PG

Author's Notes: The first chapter is a bit slow without too much action. But as with any first story in a series, Chapter 1 mainly serves as the exposition to introduce the characters and their basic relationships with each other, and their traits. Bear with it, though, 'cause it does get better as the story moves on. Thank you for checking this story out, and enjoy. :)

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**Brother Of Fire**

_By Viper Inferno_

Chapter 1

"Kyodai, you sure pack light," Rei grunted as she struggled to drag a heavy suitcase up the temple steps. Kyodai walked up the steps from behind her with two very large suitcases of his own, almost the same size as the one Rei was dragging.

"Showoff," said Rei, sticking her tongue out at Kyodai. Rei had just gotten halfway up the stairs when Kyodai came back down from taking those suitcases in. "Kyodai, why don't you help me out a little," she demanded, still straining under the weight of that suitcase.

Kyodai took the suitcase from Rei almost effortlessly and began to carry it up, with his sister following behind. "Did you have to bring everything?" she sarcastically asked.

"I am gonna be living here you know," said Kyodai, "Of course I have to bring everything." It had been 4 years since Kyodai had left the Hikawa Jinja to live with his aunt and uncle while he went to high school. After he had graduated and began attending college at the Azabu Institute of Technology, Kyodai resided in the athletic dorms. Sure he was close to his aunt and uncle, as Rei was, and somewhat close with his soccer buddies, but he had missed the family experience he had when he lived with his aunt and uncle. With more people living at the temple now, Kyodai had decided to relive the family experience he so missed and move back into the temple.

"Great," she said to herself, frustrated. She turned and stomped back down the steps and toward the trailer to grab some lighter boxes, "Brother moves out when he goes to high school, now he decides to move back in halfway into college, bringing tons of stuff." Rei made it to the trailer and grabbed a couple small boxes. Kyodai met her halfway up the stairs, "I do thank you for your help, sis," he said as he passed by.

Those words put Rei a little more at ease as she took the boxes up to Kyodai's new room. There, she laid them down with all the other boxes in the rather dull, undecorated excuse for a room. Sitting next to Rei's room, this was a room in the temple that was rarely ever used. Since Kyodai moved out 4 years ago, this room was made into a storage room, a guest room, and then just an empty room. This was the last of the rooms that wasn't taken over by the expanding family their grandfather was taking in for Shinto training. Yuuichirou's room sat just next door, and another room sat next to his, with two more bedrooms around the corner.

After bringing the boxes in, Rei went back outside to see Kyodai carrying a television up the stairs. "Does Grandpa want you bringing that into the house? We have enough TV's in the temple as it is, in 2 bedrooms," Rei commented, "It's all Romano's fault for bringing his TV to the temple when he moved in. Then Yuuichirou decides to buy one for his room, and now you bring yours."

"Rei-chan, I know how you don't like TV, so I'll keep it turned down for you," he said, "I'll also turn it off whenever I invite you in."

"You don't have to do that. Romano usually has his turned up loud as it is, so I'm used to it. But it is nice of you," she said, completely relaxed now after her being upset at having to carry all the boxes in. She walked down the steps to grab the last of the smaller boxes from the trailer.

With the trailer empty, Kyodai jumped back into his car, "I'm gonna take the trailer back. Thank you for helping, Rei-chan."

"Your welcome," said Rei as Kyodai started the engine of his old coupe.

"See 'ya Imuto," said Kyodai as he drove off, towing the empty trailer without any resistance.

Rei walked back inside, remembering how excited she was when she heard Kyodai was moving back in. She remembered how he had said over the phone how he had hated living away from his only little sister, even though they annoyed each other sometimes. Sure he came over every 2 or 3 weeks to visit, except after he entered college, but it wasn't the same as living with his sister and grandfather.

She looked in one of the boxes, where Kyodai had packed most of his soccer trophies he had won since he was 7, as well as all his academic trophies and medals. She then brought out the wooden shelves she had saved as a surprise for Kyodai when he moved in to display all his trophies. It took her little time to put the shelves up, especially since the pieces were mostly slide together and fit together. She then began unpacking all his trophies. She grabbed some brass polish and began shining each and every one of them before putting them up on the shelves. This was to be her way of showing Kyodai how proud she was of him, of everything he's accomplished, and how proud she was to be his sister.  
She placed them strategically on the shelves according to size and type. The larger trophies sat in the middle partition, while the smaller trophies sat in the side partitions, larger ones toward the back and smaller ones foward. Academic trophies sat with academic trophies, and athletic trophies sat with athletic trophies. Finally, the older and newer trophies sat together to show just how long Kyodai had been winning these trophies. Just as she was placing the trophies, her grandfather walked in the front door. "Hi Rei-chan. What are you doing," he asked.

"Putting Kyodai's trophies up," she replied.

"Well, he 'oughta start bringing home trophies for every girl who's asked him out," he commented.

"Grandpa, don't tease him. You know Kyodai's not the type who goes for every girl who asks him out," Rei defended.

"Well, a soccer star like him makes for a chick magnet. I'm surprised he doesn't have a girlfriend by now. Oh well, at least he can bring over all the pretty girls, more so than you do," he said, poking fun that Kyodai may bring home more than just Rei's friends.

"Grandpa, he has other things to worry about besides dating girls," Rei explained, "Not only does he spend a lot of energy on academics, he also spends that energy training in athletics, martial arts, and even maintaining his friendships with Mamoru and his other close friends. He hardly has the time for any dating."

"I see what you mean," said Grandpa, "He's my grandson after all. And I love him just as much as I love you."

Rei smiled as grandpa turned and walked out of the living room and toward the dojo, "Thanks Grandpa."

Rei had just finished polishing the last trophy after Grandpa had walked off. She decided to walk into Kyodai's room and go through most of the boxes, just the ones with all the room decor. In one box was a number of posters, wall scrolls, and pictures of high school and college buddies. She found a cork board amongst the boxes that looked like it had met the business end of a machine gun and hung it up on the wall above the head of his bed. Then she grabbed all the photographs, found the box of thumb tacks, and tacked each of the pictures up on the cork board.

Next was his posters. In the mix was soccer posters, an Azabu Tech poster, a couple movie posters, a Baywatch collage poster, a Baywatch poster of Pamela Anderson, and a Sailor V poster. With little decision at all, she lined his walls with them and went for his high school spirit gear. Not a whole lot made up that group, some for wall decor, and some for table and desk decor. Only his spirit flag and high school banner made any kind of wall decor. The pom-poms and various sports spirit trinkets sat on his desk, while his 8-foot-long blue and white spirit stick leaned up against a corner.

Last was his cap and gown, his Salutatorian stole, and his high school diploma. She looked about the decorated room and found a spot above the side of his bed just begging to be adorned. She hung them up neatly on small hooks, hung his framed diploma up, and then searched through all the other boxes.

She had just begun breaking down the empty boxes when she heard the sound of Kyodai's car pulling up to the shrine. Excited, she ran out to get him.

"C'mon Kyodai-chan," she said, grabbing his arm and dragging him upstairs, "I have a surprise for you." They quickly made it inside the temple when Kyodai saw the showcase, filled with every soccer trophy and academic trophy he's ever won. "I even hung your cap and gown with your Salutatorian stole up in your room," she said. Kyodai only nodded in response, captivated at the sight of his trophy case as the light in the temple reflected brilliantly off each of the gold and silver trophies. The biggest one, one of his national academic trophies, stood in the center partition between his 2 high school soccer championship trophies.

"C'mon, I'll show you your room," she said, dragging him to his room. Kyodai saw the room fixed up and organized neatly. His diploma hung neatly as Rei had planned, and all his soccer posters and high school spirit memorabilia added to the wall decor. His dark brown blanket neatly covered his bed, with his white pillow placed at the head in an orderly fashion. An Oriental rug in the middle of the wooden floor made as an excellent centerpiece. "Thank you Rei-chan," he said, shocked and amazed at the same time, "It looks great."

"No problem. I've always been proud of your achievements. I'll be sure to be there when you help Japan's soccer team win the World Cup," she replied.

"Rei-chan, you're good. And you were frustrated about carrying all that stuff in," Kyodai commented.

"Hey, I'm not anymore now that all of it's unpacked. Everyone else came home just as I was unpacking some of the stuff and decorating your room," she said, "Plus, Grandpa helped a little with the room while I was working on the display case.

He hugged his sister, thanking her for her help and for caring so much. "You want to go out for a bite to eat? Everyone at the shrine is invited, even Grandpa," he said.

"Sure," she replied, then turned around and yelled, "Hey everybody,  
Kyodai's taking us out to dinner as a welcome home celebration." She turned back to Kyodai and giggled.

"I could've done that," said Kyodai as Rei ran off to her room.

_That night..._

Kyodai and Rei took the car while Gabianni, one of the other guys at the temple, took Grandpa and the others in his mid-size sedan. After a short drive around Tokyo, Kyodai decided to stop at a pizza place. They all got out of the cars and joined each other inside.

"What will it be," the waiter at the door asked.

"Table for 6 please," Kyodai replied.

"Follow me," said the waiter.

They follow the waiter to a nice large table in the middle of the restaurant, big enough for the 6 hungry guests. The waiter handed each of them the menus and before he was on his way.

"How's meat sound," Kyodai asked.

"A medium vegetable sounds good for me," Rei replied.

"Just you?" Kyodai asked with doubt.

"Hey, I'm hungry. I haven't eaten all day," said Rei, remembering how she was too excited, then too frustrated, then too proud all day long over Kyodai moving back in permenantly to eat.

"In that case, I'll have a medium meat pizza with Yuuichirou. Who else wants to share?" Kyodai asked.

"Romano and I will share a medium meat," said Gabianni.

"Sushi sounds good to me," said Grandpa.

"On your pizza?!" Kyodai asked sarcastically.

"No. No pizza for me, only sushi," said Grandpa.

"That about does it," said Kyodai, "WAITER!"

Moments later, the waiter came running to the table, sweating a near hurricane, "You called?"

"1 Medium Vegetable, 2 Medium Meat, and 1 platter Sushi, no Sushi pizza," Kyodai ordered as he was collecting the menus. The waiter jotted down the order on a notepad.

"Any appetizers?" The waiter asked.

Kyodai looked around the table, everyone rather silent for a few seconds. Rei was the first to speak up, "I'll have a Caesar Salad."

"I'll have a small order of breadsticks please," said Gabianni.

"And I'll have a bowl of rice," Grandpa added.

"I might as well jump in. Small order of breadsticks," said Kyodai.

"Make that a large for me," said Romano.

"Garlic bread for me," Yuuichirou added.

The waiter tried his best to keep up with everyone ordering their side dishes. 'They must be really hungry,' he thought to himself, "Would you like anything to drink?"

"I'm in a tea mood," said Kyodai, "How 'bout it, everyone?"

Everyone nodded in agreement since tea was served quite often at the temple, a taste they've learned over time to develop. It was drank at the temple for meals, alone, or ceremonial purposes, especially since Grandpa was quite adept with the rituals involved with the tea ceremony. The waiter finished taking the orders, took the menus from Kyodai, and walked off.

With plenty of time before the pizza was to arrive, Kyodai sat back and thought about how great it was to be back with everybody from the temple, and this time on a permanent basis. Now that he's a permanent resident again, for the first time in 4 years, he can get to know the 3 guys Grandpa had taken in over the years even better. Life at the temple is something Kyodai had missed. And now, with the family ever so growing, life at the temple's going to be much more interesting that it was 4 years ago. Kyodai already knew that just from his usual visits.

Later on, he had just begun to share a nice conversation with Rei and the others when he heard a voice call out his name from the other side of the restaurant. Quickly, he turned to the other side of the restaurant where it came from to see Mamoru waving him over. "I'll be back guys," he said as he got up and walked over to Mamoru's table.

"You visiting again?" Mamoru asked.

"No," said Kyodai, "I just moved in with them."

"Really? And you never told me? But at least you get to see Rei 24-7," Mamoru responded, "Have a seat, stay a while."

Kyodai took an empty chair and sat across the table from Mamoru, his back turned to his family and temple workers. "Yeah, we may annoy each other, but I love my sister," said Kyodai.

"Don't you have soccer practice today?" Mamoru asked, remembering it was after 6pm and the Azabu tech soccer team was supposed finishing their practice.

"Not today," Kyodai proudly answered, "Coach let me out for the day so I could move back into the temple."

"What about tomorrow?" Mamoru asked, making sure Kyodai attends his practices.

"It's Saturday, you bonehead. You know there's no practice on Saturdays," Kyodai answered back.

"Duh," Mamoru said, slapping himself in the head for being stupid, "Well, looks like you have a free weekend. What're your plans for tomorrow?"

"I'm gonna spend some time with Rei. I haven't seen her since we graduated from high school," Kyodai replied, "With my classes and my soccer practices, plus me enjoying a little bit of college life, I didn't really make the time to visit Rei. At least now I have no excuse."

"Sounds good to me," said Mamoru, "I have an exam I need to study for. Other than that, I pretty much have the apartment all to myself."

"Hey Kyodai-chan. Pizza's here," Rei called out to her brother from his table. In prompt response, he got up to leave.

"Food's here. See 'ya, Mamoru-kun," Kyodai said as he walked back to his table.

"See 'ya, Kyodai-kun," Mamoru replied as continued to wait for his food.

As the gang of 6 dove their pizzas and sushi, they began sharing conversation.

"Kyodai-san, it's great having you back with us after 4 years." said Yuuichirou.

"At least you're around 24-7 now and not just every other week," said Romano.

"Are you gonna take martial arts classes with us?" Yuuichirou asked.

"Of course, you could learn a few things from a 2nd degree black belt," Kyodai responded, "Besides, I've trained with Rei and Grandpa before."

"Last I heard, you were a brown belt," said Romano.

"I took classes when I lived with Aunt Ryeka and Uncle Saki," Kyodai explained.

"Not quality Hikawa Jinja training, but it's better than nothing," Rei sarcastically commented.

The conversation prompted Grandpa to look up from eating his sushi, "It's a good thing Kyodai's moved back in with us. Now he can actually start bringing girls over. You never brought any over all those times you visited."

"Grandpa," Rei scolded, with a little steam coming from her ears.

"Yeah, you know I don't spend much time with girls," Kyodai pointed out.

"Well, you're on the soccer team," said Grandpa, "Girls would give anything to date a soccer player like you."

"Especially if they're making him the only freshman starter, just as good as some of the upperclassmen," said Gabianni.

"Plus a guy who's also good looking like him and me," Romano added. Kyodai only lowered his head response, sweatdrop hanging, wondering why Romano had just made that remark. He knew Romano was straight since he was dating a girl the last time he visited, but that last remark sounded both arrogant and a little gay.

During the conversation, Mamoru walked over to the table after finishing his rather small meal, "Mind if I join you guys?"

"Sure Mamoru-san, have a seat," Rei replied. Mamoru grabbed a chair and sat between Rei and Kyodai.

"I couldn't help but over hear that last one, but I'm not much for spending time with girls either," said Mamoru.

"Yeah right," said Rei, "You make fun of Usagi an awful lot."

"I thought you didn't like her much either," Mamoru argued.

"I don't like her all that much, she's a ditz. But I know you like her," said Rei.

"I don't LIKE her, she just... annoys me sometimes," said Mamoru.

"I bet she thinks you're annoying," said Kyodai, "I've seen how you are to this one girl at school."

"Ariana acts like a lunatic," Mamoru responded, "I don't even know how the college admitted her. She's only there to be a cheerleader."

After a half-hour of conversation, talking about old times, they all got up and went over to the counter. Kyodai paid for his table of six while Mamoru pays for his spaghetti dish. "I'm going to the arcade"  
said Mamoru, "Wanna go with?"

"After I drive Rei home," Kyodai answered.

"I can't believe you still have that old jalopy?" said Mamoru.

"That old jalopy pulled a near 1000lb trailer to the temple. It may be old, but it still drives great," said Kyodai, "Besides, I'm getting me a fast sports car next year."

They walked outside as Kyodai and Mamoru continued their car conversation. "What kind?" Mamoru asked.

"I don't know yet, maybe an American car," Kyodai replied.

"What, WE don't make good enough cars. Why not go European?" Mamoru asked sarcastically.

"Too much luxury, most of those Euros are. Plus some of the more sporty ones cost an arm and a leg compared to ours and the Americans," Kyodai explained.

"Show me the catalog sometime," Mamoru suggested.

"No problem. Maybe that'll help me choose a car," Kyodai replied.

"Alright, see 'ya later Kyodai-kun," said Mamoru as he turned to walk toward his little sports coupe.

Kyodai walked up to his car, finding Rei sitting in the driver's seat. "Rei-chan, you're not old enough to drive," he said, waving her over.

"Fine, I see how you are," said Rei as she hopped into the passenger seat. Kyodai opened the door and slid inside. After getting comfortable, he started the engine and drove toward home.

_Later, at the Game Center Crown's..._

After taking Rei home a while back, Kyodai pulled up by the arcade, with Mamoru waiting at the door, "C'mon Kyodai-kun, I'll play you in Sailor V Challenge."

"Yeah, and watch me clean your clock," Kyodai challenged.

"You're on," Mamoru answered.

They walked over to the Sailor V Challenge arcade and slipped their quarters in. In the only Sailor V fighting game, they battled fiercely as if their lives depended on it.

"That's Kyodai 4, Mamoru zip," said Kyodai, beating Mamoru again.

"One more game," said Mamoru, "I'll beat you this time."

In the middle of their battle, Yoruno Obake, one of Kyodai's soccer buddies walked up to the two gladiators and watched. "Hey Kyodai-kun. Hey Mamoru-kun," he greeted.

"Hi Obake-kun," Kyodai greeted back as he continued laying the smackdown on Mamoru.

"Can I play the winner?" Obake asked.

"You're looking at him," said Kyodai.

Kyodai and Mamoru continued to play, with Obake watching. Mamoru was sweating bullets as Kyodai turned the match into a slobber knocker. "I win," Kyodai blurted.

"Great game," said Mamoru.

"You wanted to play, Obake-kun?" Kyodai reminded.

"Sure," Obake replied, "Mamoru-kun, watch a real fighting game master show you how it's done." Obake got on the game with Kyodai and took to him. After a 5 second game, Obake emerged victorious.

"I rest my case. See you at practice Monday," he said as he walked off.

"Sure thing buddy," Kyodai replied as he turned to Mamoru, "Care for another round, Mamoru?"

"Yeah, I see how Obake embarrassed you," he responded as he jumped on.

There, they played a few rounds, with Mamoru going a little bit more on the offensive. In the first game, he fell again. But he only went at it again, confident that he was going to beat Kyodai. Mamoru did much better this game, taking it to Kyodai fast and furious. After he had seen Obake's tactics, sweating up a storm while applying those tactics to his battle against Kyodai, he emerged victorious. "There, I finally got you," he said, celebrating.

"Took you long enough. That makes it Kyodai 7, Mamoru 1," said Kyodai.

"Hey, it's getting late. I gotta go home," said Mamoru as he began walking toward the exit.

"Yeah, I'm going places with Rei tomorrow. I'll see 'ya later Mamoru-kun," said Kyodai as he walked to his car.

After a short drive through town, he pulled up in his new parking spot in a covered carport next to the temple steps. He had just gotten out of the car and began walking up the steps when Rei dashed down to greet him.

"Did you clean his clock?" she asked excitedly.

"Whooped him good," he replied with a little arrogance, then changing the tone, "Until one of my friends, Obake, jumped in and whoopedme pretty quick."

"Did Mamoru win any?" she asked.

"Only once," Kyodai proudly replied. They walked up the steps and into the living room. Just this room alone reminded Kyodai so much of what life was like here 4 years ago when he was living here, and how much it has changed over the years as he had seen through his visits. Then, he remembered his sister, one of the big reasons he came back to the temple to live there, and turned to her. "So Rei-chan, what do you want to do tomorrow?"

"I gotta have you meet my friends," she immediately responded with enthusiasm, "They're some of the best friends of mine you'll ever meet. Maybe I can meet some of yours sometime."

"Sounds good to me. We'll find something to do tomorrow," he said,  
hugging his sister.

"It's great to have you living with us again bro," said Rei.

"Same here," Kyodai agreed. They let each other go and made their way toward their rooms. As Kyodai entered the doorway to his room, he turned to his sister, "Good night Imuto. Sweet dreams."

"Good night, Onii-san. You too," Rei replied as she entered hers.

Kyodai walked into his new room and closed his door for the night. There, he lied on his new bed, with thoughts of being back at the temple again with his sister, his grandfather, and the guys at the temple going through his mind.

_end of chapter 1_

_

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_...Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't mine, but to Naoko Takeuchi. And God bless that woman for creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment and Cloverway, and all I thank them for is bringing' it to America, nothin' more. But Russell Hino/Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, Titanius, and Deanna Kokorono/Kokorono Meijin are MINE (in a growling voice). So, please don't sue me. I'm just a lonely man who ain't got anythang but his pride. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me.

Have fun Sailor Moon fans,  
Viper Inferno  
(Y2V)


	2. Chapter 2: The Fiery Tuxedo Appears

Title: Brother of Fire - Chapter 2 (revised)

Author: Viper Inferno

Genre: Action Drama/Epic

Rated: PG

Author's Notes: Do bear with the story. I like to keep everything flowing linearly, and not jumping from one scene to the next like I used to do when I started writing fanfiction. The story does pick up as you read along.

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**Brother Of Fire **

_By Viper Inferno_

Chapter 2

"Find me," a young girl's voice said to Kyodai in the middle of the night, "Search the world for me, my Prince of Mars."

Kyodai opened his eyes to find himself in the middle of a vast desert. It was nighttime, with the stars being the only thing glistening in the night sky. Since it was nighttime in a desert, the air was comfortably cool to the touch. There was not a cloud about, yet the breeze was gentle as it carried the young girl's words. He couldn't make out what he was seeing, nor what he was hearing.

"Where are you?" he asked.

Silence was he only answer. He looked all about the desert, wondering how he ended up there. But then the wind suddenly grew into a massive gust, sending the man flying for seemingly a short distance. Kyodai slammed face first into the sand, coating his face in it. He lifted his face from the sand, spitting out any that had gotten into his mouth.

That gust, however, was the last of the wind he had felt. The winds were once again calm, yet the air was still mild to the touch. When he opened his eyes, he found himself to be indoors, looking out a massive doorway leading onto a large starlit balcony. Kyodai slowly made it back to his feet and brushed the rest of the sand off of his face before walking toward the balcony.

Surprisingly, he couldn't make out any of the features in the room he was walking through, as if everything around him but the doorway and the balcony was pitch black. But when he made it outside and onto the balcony, he found it to be an even more captivating sight. It was overlooking a vast and beautiful ocean, glistening in the starlight.

"I'm right here, my Prince of Mars," the voice finally answered from somewhere very close by. Kyodai turned to his right to see the spectral figure of a beautiful young lady. He couldn't even begin to make out the features of her. It was only when a gentle breeze began to blow did he notice the outline of her hair sway elegantly.

"Find me," she said.

"But you're right here," Kyodai argued.

"Search the world for me," she continued to say.

"Where?" he asked, "How can I search the world for you when you're right here before me?"

The young woman only walked closer to him. Even as she was nearing him, he still couldn't make out even a single facial feature. Yet he still knew in his heart that she was an absolutely beautiful young lady. She then took his hands into hers. Kyodai found it odd that he could feel her soft, silky hands caress his, that he could see her hair flow elegantly in the wind, and that he could hear her soft beautiful voice echo in the wind, but he couldn't even see this beautiful princess that was standing right before him. All that stood before him was but a spectral outline.

"You've been on a journey, my Prince of Mars," she said softly, her voice still echoing in the wind, "We have been apart for a thousand years. I am sad that we have been apart for this long, and I know that my absence has made you sad as well. I want us to be together again. I want us to be happy again."

"What am I supposed to do, my princess?" Kyodai sadly asked, feeling the sadness in his heart and feeling helpless to end it.

"I am out there somewhere, waiting for you," she answered, giving his hands a gentle squeeze, "Find me. That is what you must do"  
"But where?" Kyodai asked.

"On your journey, my Prince of Mars," the princess replied, "The same journey you've been on since you discovered who you are."

Somehow, Kyodai believed what she was saying, and was beginning to understand it better. He has seen this princess before, he has loved this princess before, and he has been this close to this princess before, all happening many years ago. Yet, ever since she began calling to him, he has been searching for her. But more so, it was the fact that she subtly mentioned him discovering his true self that had helped him to understand what she was saying.

"Search the world for me, my Prince of Mars," said the princess as he let go of his hands. Slowly, she began to back away from him, toward the darkness from which he himself had emerged.

"I am out there, somewhere. Let your heart guide you, my Prince of Mars, for it knows when you've found me. Wherever you go, wherever you search in the world, no matter how difficult the journey, if you search... I will be waiting for you... I promise," she said with her voice echoing as she slowly disappeared into the dark room.

Suddenly, there was a flash, and Kyodai found himself lying down. He opened his eyes, finding himself in darkness once again, this time wrapped sheets. He rolled over to his left, finding only his alarm clock reading 5:12am. The sight of that alarm clock helped him to conclude that he was back in the temple, back in his room. "Damn, not another one of those dreams," he said to himself as he rolled back over, facing the ceiling of his room, "Yet I still wonder who she is. She's definitely someone I know, or once knew."

Dreams such as this weren't anything new to Kyodai. He had been having these dreams of the same princess since he had first left the Hikawa Jinja, though they had begun occurring more often just recently. But not only were the dreams of the same princess, but ones of what seemed to be a life from long ago. The dreams also involved people he knew from that distant past, close friends he had. And what was odd to him was that he could easily point those friends out today, but he could never point that princess of his out.

Since it was almost time for his alarm to be going off, Kyodai rolled back over and turned his alarm clock off. Then, he threw the sheets off of him and sat up in his bed, letting his feet hang over the edge and onto the floor. The cool air in his room struck his slightly sweaty body, giving him a slight chill. "I need a shower," he said to himself has he set his feet down onto the cold wooden floor, got up from his bed, and walked over to his door. He slid it open and walked through the dark hall and into the bathroom.

Kyodai walked out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"About time Kyodai," said Rei at the door in her pajamas, waiting impatiently for what seemed like forever, "I hope there's some hot water left."

"Sorry Rei-chan," Kyodai apologized as he walked toward his room, which allowed Rei to have her time in the shower. Once in his room, Kyodai opened his relatively large wardrobe. "Okay now, what to wear," Kyodai said to himself, examining the many different shirts and pants he had. He had his wardrobe very neatly organized, with his t-shirts separated from his collars, his long sleeves from his short sleeves, his slacks separated from his jeans, his coats separated from his jackets, and so forth.

He decided to pull out a white short-sleeve shirt, a pair maroon slacks, a maroon sport coat, and his lavender necktie. It was a usual casual style for him. Sure, he'd wear t-shirts now and then, especially when he was either exercising or just didn't feel like dressing in his casuals. Like his best friend, Mamoru, he usually wore collared shirts, tie or no tie, slacks and rarely jeans, and sometimes a blazer or sport coat to go with it. Very rarely did he ever wear a full suit and tie. That was reserved more for business, outings, and other events where it was appropriate. After he had gotten himself dressed, he fixed his hair into its usual style, tied back ponytail with his bangs hanging down the side of his face and in front of his ears. All nicely dressed now, Kyodai walked out of his room and into the kitchen to look for breakfast.

Unlike his decision of what to wear, he had a rather hard time deciding what to make for breakfast. This wasn't a usual behavior coming from him. But it was that princess dream that had left him thinking about it for a while. He really wasn't sure what kind of breakfast he was in the mood for. Would he take the time to fix himself a nice breakfast, as well as fix some up for everyone else at the temple? Or would he just forget about it and grab any leftovers from the refrigerator. But as he was taking his time deciding on breakfast, Rei walked into the kitchen with breakfast on her mind as well. Either Rei took no time at all when taking her shower, or it was really taking Kyodai that long to decide on breakfast.

"Hey Kyodai-chan, would you like to eat out before we do anything?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Kyodai, breathing heavily into an open cupboard, "Saves me from having to cook something."

"Oh, Kyodai-chan, you're not that bad of a cook," she reassured, brushing off his last statement.

"Sure," he responded to Rei's original question as he closed the cupboards. He then looked at his sister, who was dressed in a casual red blouse and skirt with a pink vest, and red flats to match. Her red beret complemented her style.

"Great," said Rei excitedly, "Hope you're not this indecisive at wherever we're going." She followed Kyodai to his room where he picked up his car keys. Yuuichirou then walked out of his room, still in his pajamas, obviously having just wakened up himself. Rei immediately turned to get his attention, "Hey Yuuichirou-san, tell Grandpa we left early to have breakfast."

"Yeah," he grunted in response, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he made his way into the bathroom. Kyodai grabbed his car keys and joined Rei as they made their way out of the living room. Once outside, they made their way across the shrine and down the steps to where Kyodai's old coupe and Gabianni's sedan were parked. They both hopped into Kyodai's old coupe and casually began making their way to a nearby donut shop.

While on their way, they were rather silent in the car for the first few minutes of the trip. Rei was thinking about her planned activities for later that day, while Kyodai was in little mood for talking with that recurring princess dream still on his mind. Rei looked over to her brother and decided to break the silence, especially when she sensed that something was on his mind. "You're rather quiet for a guy who just returned to the Hikawa Jinja to live with his family, and was very excited about doing so," she commented.

That had broken Kyodai's train of thought as her words were just then registering in his brain. It took a moment before he replied, "I'm still stoked about being back with everyone. Why do you think you and I are spending much of the day together?"

His delayed response only proved her intuition to be true. "Another dream?" she asked.

"It was nothing," he replied, snubbing her inquiry.

"Then why is it still on your mind?" she questioned, not wanting to be just brushed off so easily. She knew there was something to it.

"Just a bad dream, that's all," Kyodai again replied, bending the truth a little.

"Oh really? You consider a girl a bad dream?" Rei revealed, letting him know that she had seen right through his lie, "I know you don't date girls too much, sometimes to the point that it's ridiculous how little you date girls, but now it's but a bad dream?"

"No, it's not that," Kyodai rebutted, oblivious to his sister's little pun, "It's just..." He paused for a minute as he tried to find a way to put it.

"Your dream girl?" Rei guessed, which really wasn't too far from the truth.

Kyodai turned his face away slightly, obviously trying to hide a slight blush from being exposed by his sister's ESP, yet still keeping his eye on the road. But that effort was futile as Rei's quick eyes caught him red-faced the instant before he turned away.

"I see..." Rei teased, knowing she's guessed right, "So tell me, what's she like?"

"Not now, Rei... we're almost there," said Kyodai, once again avoiding his sister's probing inquiries.

"Fine, you can tell me later," said Rei as she turned back to the city streets in front of them. Once the donut shop had come into their view not a moment too soon, Kyodai turned into the lot and into a vacant parking space.

Once inside, the duo made their way through a small gathering of people and to the counter. There, they browsed the menu, wondering exactly what kind of donuts they wanted. A short moment passed, and Kyodai wasn't as indecisive has he and Rei both decide on milk and devil's food donuts for breakfast.

"My friends won't be out this early," said Rei, "They'd be awake and having their breakfast by now."

"Where are they gonna be and when?" Kyodai asked.

"They'll all meet at Makoto's at about 11am. I sort of arranged this so they could meet you."

"You arranged a gathering so you would introduce me to your friends?"

"Umm... yes," Rei answered halfway sheepishly, before changing her tone, "Hey, I was stoked about you coming back at the time. And I still am."

"Okay, first you build a rather nice trophy case for all my trophies, you decorate my room, and you arrange a meeting between me and your friends?" Kyodai pieced together, "You must've really been excited about having me live with you again."

"Well, it has been 4 years since you moved away with our aunt and uncle. I only heard from you but a couple times a week, and only saw you every couple of weeks. Excited was hardly a word I could've used, as it would've been an understatement," Rei explained, "Do you remember how old I was back when you moved out?"

"9 or 10, right?" Kyodai estimated, having an idea of the correct answer.

"Yes," Rei replied, before silence fell between them as those thoughts rested on their minds. This was really the first time in months that both she and Kyodai have spent any time together, just them as siblings. So what to do for the day was also on their minds, as well as Rei's arranged meeting with her friends. But it was what to do before then which brought up another question to Kyodai's mind, "So... what do you want to do for 2 hours?"

"Let's see, walk in the park, go to the arcade, the mall's not open 'til 10, few of my friends are awake at this hour," Rei replied as she continued her long list of can do's and can't do's.

"Park sounds fine to me," said Kyodai, quick to reply.

"And what will we do there?" Rei asked, inquisitive as to even the very details of how they would spend the next hour or so before meeting up with Rei's friends.

"How about a nice bike ride?" Kyodai suggested after a moment of pondering.

"Sounds good," Rei agreed after finishing her breakfast.

"Ready to go?" Kyodai asked, having finished his as well. Rei gave a quick nod before getting up from her seat. She briskly made her way to the door, with Kyodai following close behind with the trays, dropping them off in one of the trash bins before leaving the caf?

They then jumped into the car and made their trek through the morning city traffic, on their way back to the Hikawa Jinja. With a bike ride being their activity at the park, they had to go back home and change into some exercise clothes.  
However, the city traffic wasn't as bad as Kyodai had originally anticipated as he took little time at all getting back to the shrine.

Once inside, they each went into their rooms and did their best to quickly change into some exercise clothes. For both of them, it consisted of t-shirts and shorts. The weather outside was descent enough for being the middle of fall, but it was still enough for the both of them to stand it while wearing shorts.

Once dressed, they both made their way out of the living room and out to the shrine grounds. "Man, I need the exercise," said Kyodai as he pulled his old bike out.

"Hey, it gives us something to do for an hour and a half," said Rei as she pulled hers out as well.

They hopped onto their bikes and began their long ride down to the park. Kyodai pedaled at high speed, his strong soccer player legs making it seem effortless, while Rei struggled to keep up, since she had spent more time on her training as a miko rather than physical exercise. Though she did take martial arts along with the others, she didn't have Kyodai's dedication to sports to further improve her physical prowess.

Minutes later, Kyodai made it to the park, barely even breaking a sweat. So he leaned his bike up next to a tree and awaited his sister. It didn't take too long for Rei to catch up with him. She stopped right in front of him, panting and sweating after having pushed herself hard to try and keep up with her speedy brother. "Kyodai, I'm not a soccer player. I can't keep up with you," she scolded while trying to catch her breath.

"Sorry Rei-chan, I just couldn't resist," said Kyodai, laughing.

Frustrated enough, Rei took off one of her canvas Mary Janes and knocked him over the head with it, "Showoff."

After Rei had finally caught her breath a moment later, Kyodai grabbed his bike and started down the bike trail, being more conservative with his speed this time. This allowed Rei to follow close behind him without any effort.

Halfway through the trail, they met Obake on his Saturday morning run. Obake greeted the siblings as they rode by, continuing on his run. They were actually rather silent on their little bike ride, for their meeting with Rei's friends had dominated both of their minds. That did leave Kyodai to think about it. He thought about what few buddies he did have. All he had was Mamoru, whom Rei already knew, whom Rei once dated, and Okabe, the soccer buddy he with whom he was closest. Kyodai didn't really have much to introduce his sister to. And this also had Kyodai thinking, these girls must've been her age. But who says an 18-  
year-old can't be friends with 14-year-olds. Then again, Kyodai never really cared much for dating girls, and was friends with very few of them in his life. So Kyodai didn't really know what to think about his sister arranging a meeting with her friends. All he could do was to take it as a formal introduction.

It wasn't until he and Rei had passed Obake 3 times before she had gotten his attention. Kyodai stopped and looked back to see Rei pointing at her watch, letting him know it was time to be heading back to the shrine. Passing by Obake 3 times, that must've taken a while with how large the lake was, and how fast they were going compared to Obake's jogging.

"Alright," he responded as turned around and began making his way home, riding slower this time to avoid another meeting with Rei's shoe.

_Hikawa Jinja..._

They made it home a little more casually, and a little later than they wanted to get there. There, they took their turns showering, removing from their bodies any evidence of their nice little exercise adventure. After showering, they changed back into the clothes they had worn earlier that morning, especially since all they did in them was go out to breakfast. On their way out, Kyodai had glanced at the clock in the living room, showing him that he had only a few minutes to drive down to Makoto's place. Even if he had sped getting there, he didn't know exactly how long he had to get there. Rei had not yet told him where in Tokyo Makoto lived.

"We're late," said Kyodai, grabbing his shoes as he hurried out the door. He hadn't even gotten his shoes on his feet until he made it down the steps to where his car was. He then abruptly jumped into his car and started the engine. There, he impatiently waited that short moment it took for Rei to make it down the steps and to his car.

"Kyodai, there's no need to hurry. It's alright if we're late. Makoto won't take it personally," said Rei, trying to calm her brother down as she had more casually gotten herself into the car.

No sooner than Rei had closed the door did Kyodai gun the engine and sped off into the Tokyo streets. As he drove, Rei was giving him the directions to Makoto's apartment. Shee had decided it'd be better to let Kyodai try to speed down there. She had remembered from before Kyodai's 4 years away from the Hikawa Jinja that he had always hated being late, whether to school, meetings, appointments, or even to movies. Even a meeting with his sister's friends, a meeting Rei had felt he was a little apprehensive about, was something Kyodai didn't want to be late to.

_Minutes later, Makoto's Apartment..._

It wasn't long before they make it to the high-rise apartment building where Makoto lived. "Well, we're late," said Kyodai, after giving up all hope of ever making it there on time as Rei had planned.

"Makoto'll forgive me for being late, especially because I was the one who arranged it," said Rei, "But Usagi's going to be the one who'll give me hell for it, unless she still isn't there yet."

"What do you mean by that?" Kyodai asked, curious.

"You really don't want to know how often she's late to meetings, study groups, and classes," Rei explained.

"Oh... I see," Kyodai replied, knowing exactly what his sister meant. The elevator door opened in front of them and the two siblings walked down the hall. Once making it to Makoto's apartment, Rei knocked on the door.

"Come in," Makoto's voice sounded through the door. Almost on impulse, Rei opened the door and welcomed her brother and herself inside. There, Kyodai sees 2 girls on the couch, one with blonde hair tied up in a pair of mini-buns resembling dumplings, and the other also a blonde with her hair pulled back high in a ponytail and held in place by a large red bow. Both were talking amongst themselves as they were almost oblivious to the strange man Rei had brought into the apartment.

Near the blonde duo, Kyodai noticed a taller girl with brunette hair pulled back into a high ponytail. Judging by her wearing an apron and dusting the coffee table, this must've been Makoto, the girl who lived there. His sixth sense had helped him out in making that assumption as well. And over at the kitchen table, a blue-haired girl caught Kyodai's eye. She couldn't quite make out her features since the physics book she was reading covered most of her face. Yet, he still noted her short blue hair. Just by the action alone, Kyodai could tell she was the genius of the group of girls, and probably the most serious as well.

Just a moment after the siblings were inside, and after Kyodai had taken note of each of the four girls, Makoto turned to Rei, giving her a rather disappointed look. "Jeez Rei, it's 11:25. You're worse than Usagi," said Makoto.

"Yeah, you can't jump me for being late," Usagi added.

"Oh, get over yourself, Odango," Rei said sharply as both girls stuck their tongues out at each other. Kyodai merely shook his head at this rather immature act. 'She'll forgive us, she said,' He thought to himself sarcastically. What was his sister thinking? He had been brought to a house with a bunch of immature junior high girls who weren't even old enough to drive. But he kept his faith, having an idea that these girls weren't always this immature. He walked up to his sister and nudged her shoulder, reminding her why they were there in the first place. Maybe then he would prove his good karma to be true.

"Oh, Usagi, Mako-chan, Minako-chan, Ami-chan, this is my big brother Hino Kyodai," she introduced as her brother waved 'hi'.

"Wow, Rei-chan. You never told me you had a brother," said Usagi.

"That's because he moved out long before I met you all," Rei explained.

"Whoa, he's cute," said Minako as she immediately jumped up. She casually walked up to him and shook his hand with both of hers, "Pleasure to meet you."

Makoto quickly finished dusting the coffee table and she looks up at Rei and Kyodai, seeing the family resemblance, as well as how handsome he actually looked. "He looks like..."

"...your old boyfriend," Usagi and Rei finish, with sweatdrops hanging from their heads. 'How impolite,' Rei thought to herself, referring to both Minako and Makoto, and maybe Usagi as well. But then again, Usagi didn't know she had a brother. So Rei reluctantly excused it.

Ami was the last to look up at Kyodai. Remembering her manners, she laid down her physics book and stood from her chair. She then walked up to Kyodai and bowed respectfully before him. "Pleasure to meet you, Hino-san," said Ami before turning back around and walking back to her book, taking no time at all to get back to reading it.

"I'm sorry. You'll have to excuse Ami," said Rei to Kyodai, "She's got a big test on Monday."

"That's alright," said Kyodai before turning to the blonde with the odangos, "So you're the Usagi whom Mamoru's always teasing."

"You know him?" said Usagi with her eyes wide open.

"Of course I know him. He's my best friend," Kyodai almost proudly replied.

"You mean you're best friends with that BULLY?!" Usagi replied, almost throwing away her manners. She knew she was in for a double dose of teasing, from both Mamoru and Rei's older brother.

"Relax Usagi, he doesn't tease girls," said Rei, then turning to Kyodai with a but of a joking smirk, "Do 'ya?" Her response to that joke was merely a gentle punch in the arm.

"So, Kyodai-san, am I right," said Usagi, trying to get his name right, and get her manners back, "Where'd you go to school?"

"I graduated from the Juuban High School," Kyodai replied, "But before I moved away from Rei, I went to junior high at the Juuban Junior High."

"Really, that's where I go," said Usagi ecstatically, again losing her manners. Her excitement, and apprehension over meeting Rei's brother, a brother she didn't even know Rei had, had completely taken over her.

"Same here," said Makoto.

"And I as well," said Ami, trying hard to study Physics and pay attention to the conversation at the same time, trying not to give a bad impression.

"I was on the soccer team both there and in high school," Kyodai went on explaining, "You should look in the yearbooks from then. You'll find some pictures of me there."

"So where do you go now?" Usagi asked.

"I go to the Azabu Institute of Technology with Mamoru and Motoki. I'm on their soccer team too," he replied.

"He's good," said Rei, "You should come to the temple and see all the trophies he's won." Feeling more welcomed, and a little less apprehensive than before, Kyodai pulled up a chair from the kitchen table as Rei takes her seat on the couch across from Usagi.

"Exactly how good are you?" Makoto asked, sitting next to Rei and looking the rather striking young man in the eyes.

"The Juuban High School soccer team won the championships my last two years there. Rei and I have the rings to prove it," Kyodai answered as both he and Rei he showed Makoto his rings. "I'm also the only freshman on Azabu's starting team."

"Cool," Makoto commented with a little spark in her eyes.

Long after having sat down from her introduction, Minako looked at the fine-looking Kyodai, also with a twinkling in her eyes. "He's so cute," Minako whispered to Usagi, which only got the rolling of the eyes in response.

"So," said Rei, getting back into the conversation, "What are you ladies doing tonight?"

"There's a number of new movies out tonight. I'd gotten this one guy at school to go with me," said Usagi, not paying attention to Minako's dreaminess.

"An old friend of mine is here for the weekend and wants to do something with me tonight," said Makoto, "I'll go with you."

Minako looked back at Kyodai and realized that she no boyfriend to take to the movies, and was kind of hoping this good-looking guy would take her. So, thinking on impulse, she jumped up from the couch and hopped onto Kyodai's lap in a noticeably flirting manner.

"Whoa, hello," he said in shock of her rather sudden action. Sure he's had girls openly flirt with him, even throw themselves on him before, but Minako's way of doing so made him a little more anxious, even a little bit nervous as to what to do. But he couldn't help but to find her very attractive for a younger girl, considering that half of what few girls he did date in high school were no less then 2 years younger than he was. Her light blonde hair, her fair complexion, and her baby blue eyes were like that of a Hollywood movie star's. He couldn't help but to feel maybe a little bit attraction towards this pretty girl, though he was reluctant to admit it.

Minako looked into his eyes with a little sparkle, as she lightly wrapped her arms around his neck, "Oh, please take me with you tonight."

Kyodai couldn't help but not to resist an offer from a pretty face such as hers. Yet he was still a little nervous about this girl literally throwing herself on him. Dating girls was something Kyodai was always reluctant to do, spending most of his time either in his studies or on the soccer field. That and commitment made him uneasy, and slow to take a girl out on a date.

"C'mon Kyodai, take Minako with you. It'll make her feel better," said Rei, cheering her brother on, "The rest of us are going."

"Um... I'm not," said Ami after looking up from her book, "I'm busy tonight."

"Please?" Minako begged, caressing his cheek.

"Um... okay," said Kyodai, still with a little anxiety.

"Oh, thank you," said Minako ecstatically as she hugged Kyodai.

"Great," said Rei, "What time?"

It didn't take long before Usagi thought of a good time to go out, "8 o'clock sounds fine. Meet here?"

Makoto walked out of the kitchen with her apron off, seeing Minako on Kyodai's lap with her arms around him.

"Hino-san, I think she likes you," she said, glaring at Minako. But Minako only glared back, holding Kyodai protectively. 'Mine, not yours,' she thought to herself.

"Minako-chan, does he really want you on his lap?" said Ami, still looking up from her book.

"Of course he does," Minako responded, giving him another tight squeeze. Kyodai thought of how he was feeling, his uneasiness and his possible attraction toward Minako, wondering if he really did want her on his lap. 'Sure,' he thought to himself, admitting to himself that he was starting to enjoy the open attention he was getting from her. He once again noted the cute red bow in her hair, 'That thing really does add to her beauty. And she seems friendly enough. Maybe I'll go ahead and take her out, just once. It wouldn't hurt anything. I just hope Grandpa doesn't tease me about her.' After all, what guy doesn't like that kind of attention from a girl?

'I hope grandpa doesn't ask her out if Kyodai ever decides to bring her over,' Rei thought to herself, remembering when every time the girls came to the temple for visits or senshi meetings.

Suddenly, a beeping sound came from Usagi's vicinity, breaking up the whole conversation, and the attention Kyodai was getting from this openly flirtatious and beautiful young lady. "Usagi-san, do you have a pager?" he asked.

"Excuse me for a moment," said Usagi as she got up and walked towards Makoto's bedroom, knowing what that sound was and what it was for. Once hidden from the oblivious Kyodai, she pulled out her communicator, "Yes Luna?"

"Usagi-chan, we've got a problem downtown," said Luna, "There's a minion of the Dark Kingdom dressed like a rather large man leading a few youma in an attack on the innocent people, stealing their life energy."

"What do you know of this man?" Usagi asked.

"Well, I know who he is if that'll help any," Luna replied, "His name is Thrul. He's a high-ranking soldier, one of Jadeite's old troops. But be quick, the people need yours and the other senshi's help."

"We're on our way Luna," said Usagi as she put up her communicator. She then walked back into the living room. "Guys, there's..." she paused, realizing she would've revealed their identities with Kyodai there, "...an errand we need to run."

Ami already had her book closed and was at the door, as she had known what that beeping was for. However, Minako tried to spend a few more moments with Kyodai while Usagi was talking to Luna. But then, she released Kyodai and let herself off of him, joining Ami at the door. "Kyodai-chan," said Rei, trying to come up with a lie.

"No, that's alright," Kyodai reassured, reading Rei's face and sensing her apology, "I might as well run an errand too. Are we still on for tonight?"

"Sure thing," Usagi answered, "We'll be back in an hour or so."

"Excellent, I'll be around if I make it here before you," said Kyodai as he and his sister were the first out the door.

The rest of the girls followed behind, keeping their distance in order to keep Kyodai oblivious to their intentions. What had made it easier for them was the fact that Rei was the only one who accompanied Kyodai to the elevator. This had given ample time for the girls to transform. However, without Rei in the group, they would be at a disadvantage in battle. So they awaited at Makoto's front door as Rei walked her brother out to his car.

"Hey Rei-chan?" said Kyodai as he and Rei exited the elevator, "Why aren't the others with you?"

"Oh... they're probably just running behind," Rei replied, again improvising, "You know how us girls are." Almost no time at all had passed before they had made it to Kyodai's old coupe. Casually, Kyodai opened the door and climbed in, still oblivious to his sister's little secret.

"I'll see you later, Imuto," said Kyodai through his open window as he started the engine of his car.

"You too, Onii-san," Rei replied, giving Kyodai a wink before he drove off into the urban jungle. With him gone, Rei quickly dashed back inside the apartment building and into the elevator, almost running a man down in the process. Once inside, and alone, she drew both her communicator and her henshin pen. "Everyone, transform," she ordered.

"No problem Ms. 'I wanna be leader'," Usagi replied sarcastically.

Rei merely hung her head as she closed her communicator. "Damn, she really can piss me off sometimes," she exclaimed under her breath. She then thrust her hand and henshin pen into the air, "Mars Power, Make-up!"

Back at Makoto's apartment, the others checked the halls for possible peeping toms before raising their own henshin pens.  
"Mercury Power, Make-up!"

"Jupiter Power, Make-up!

"Venus Power, Make-up!

"Moon Prism Power, Make-up!"

Once transformed, the senshi made a break for the elevator, joining Sailor Mars inside. As if Kyodai wasn't enough of a delay for them, the slow elevator ride sure didn't help their urgency any.

"God, I hope we're not too late," said Sailor Mercury.

"Yeah, you sure took your time walking your brother out," Sailor Moon scolded.

"Hey, it's not my fault the Dark Kingdom decided to attack right as I introduce my only brother to you," Sailor Mars bickered back, right as the elevator door began to open. There really was no time for bickering as all five senshi burst out of the elevator and out of the apartment. From their, they made their way downtown.

_Downtown Tokyo..._

Minutes later, they arrive at their destination. There, they find only an octopus-like youma with a woman entangled in its tentacles, draining her of all consciousness.

"Move" Sailor Mars ordered, quick to act as she aimed her pointer fingers at the tentacled mollusk. "Fire Soul!" she yelled as she launched a ball of fire at the youma, striking its body with deadly accuracy and utterly wounding it.

Right as Sailor Mars had gotten her shot off, Sailor Venus moved in to attack, to finish this mutated sea creature off.

Unfortunately, in pain, the octopus youma swung a couple free tentacles at the first thing he saw, Sailor Venus, and grabbed onto her. With amazing strength, the youma had her wrapped up in its appendages and had begun squeezing her like a vise.

Seeing her friend in danger, Sailor Jupiter was the next to step up as she dashed over to the youma. While the youma was busy concentrating on inflicting pain upon Sailor Venus before it was to drain her energy, Sailor Jupiter grabbed onto one of its tentacles and gave it a really good squeeze, nearly digging her fingers into it. The pain she was inflicting worked, as it was enough to cause the youma to let go of his prey.

With her friend free, Sailor Jupiter jumped back, putting some distance between her and the youma as she charged up for her next attack. "Supreme Thunder!" she yelled as she swung her arms outward, launching deadly forks of lightning at the youma. They struck their target at light speed, electrocuting the youma and vaporizing it moments later.

"There," said Sailor Jupiter, satisfied with the results as she lowered her guard. She then turned to the other three senshi behind her. "How many more?" Sailor Jupiter asked, just as something had caught her eye, "Rei, LOOK OUT!"

Sailor Mars quickly turned around, only to see the huge shadow of another youma. However, her response was all but too late as the monstrosity had overtaken her, quickly wrestling her to the ground and leaving her defenseless.

After jumping out of its way, avoiding a similar fate herself, Sailor Moon acted on impulse and quickly removed her tiara, with her intent made perfectly clear.

"Moon Tiara Action!" she yelled, letting her tiara fly, hurling strait towards the unsuspecting youma and striking it dead in the face. With that kind of force, the tiara had knocked the youma off of Sailor Mars and sent it on a ride down the avenue and out of sight.

Relieved, Sailor Mars sat up and turned to Sailor Moon, "Thank you, Usagi."

"Anytime," Sailor Moon responded after catching her boomerang tiara, giving her friend a quick wink.

Meanwhile, Sailor Venus and Sailor Mercury were busy fighting yet another youma, a more oversized, buffed man-like youma. With a two to one advantage, the duo seemed to have the upper hand on this mutant humanoid.

"Shabon Spray!" Sailor Mercury chanted, throwing her arms toward the youma and sending a volley of bubbles flying at it.

"Crescent Beam!" Sailor Venus yelled, aiming her pointer finger at the youma and firing a bright beam of light at it. The combined attack struck the barn-sized target, prompting it to fly back into a building and then to the ground. However, the youma recovered quickly, displaying amazing stamina as he bum rushed Sailor Venus.

In response, Sailor Venus aimed her pointer fingers at the youma, as of a gun, and began chanting another attack. But she had barely uttered the first syllable before the speedy hulk tackled Sailor Venus. Quickly, he wrapped her in his muscle-bound arms and began squeezing the life out of her, reminding her of her earlier experience with the octopus.

All of a sudden, a tiara flew in from out of nowhere and struck the hulk in the face, causing him to wince in pain and let go of Sailor Venus. There, the youma covered his face as it burned in pain before it and the rest of his body vaporized. With all 3 youma gone, the rest of the Sailor Team gathered.

"Where's this Thrul soldier that Luna was talking about?" Sailor Mercury asked.

"Follow me," said Sailor Moon as they began their search for the Dark Kingdom minion leading these youma. It didn't take long for them to find their target, right through a store window. Inside, they saw a number of bodies lying unconscious from an energy drain and a soldier clad in black armor torturing a store clerk.

"That's him," Sailor Venus pointed out as she pointed her finger at Thrul through the window, "Crescent Beam!"

While Thrul was busy torturing the poor store clerk, draining his energy in the process, he was completely oblivious to the 5 Sailor Senshi standing just outside the window as well as him being on the business end of an intensified beam of light. What he had gotten for his ignorance was a blast from the side from that crescent beam, sending him into a number of wall-mounted shelves, knocking over its contents.

Moments later, he recovered from his short airborne trip through the store, shacking the cobwebs out of his head. It was then that he discovered the very group who had shot him. "Ah, Sailor Moon," he said, his smile completely hidden under his helmet and face cowl.

"Damn right I'm Sailor Moon!" she replied, "I've had it with you and your ruining everyone's days, mine included. In the name of the Moon, you'll be punished." She had struck her trademark pose at that last sentence, making it well known to the soldier who she was and what her intentions were.

Thrul only crossed his arms and chuckled at her trademark motto, "Heh, this'll be cakewalk." At almost an instant, he threw his arms to his sides and slammed his hands together, causing the 5 Sailor Senshi to jump. He then thrust his hands toward the quintet and launched a beam of energy at them, more specifically at Sailor Moon. His quick, on impulse action proved to work as the beam struck his target before she could even react, sending her flying into a van across the street.

Meanwhile, the other senshi had leaped out of the way just as the beam had struck Sailor Moon. Sailor Jupiter then turned back to Thrul, with her burning anger showing itself in her eyes. "Nobody does that to my friend you spineless fiend," she exclaimed as a mini-antenna emerged from her tiara, with a bolt of lightning striking it and charging her powers. "Supreme Thunder!" she yelled as she swung her arms to her sides, launching bolts of lightning at Thrul, giving him some frequent flyer miles.

After receiving a little bit of electroshock therapy, Thrul recovered from Sailor Jupiter's fierce attack with merely a few singes on his armor. And just as quickly as he had gotten up, he counterattacked with his own lightning attack, knocking his electric opponent senseless.

"Oh my God," Sailor Mercury gasped, with her hand over mouth in shock, "His lightning attack was more powerful than hers."

"How are we going to win against this guy?" Sailor Venus wondered from not too far away.

With Sailor Jupiter out of the ballgame, Thrul turned his attention back to Sailor Moon, who was just now recovering from the attack she had received. But he had overestimated the success of his attack as Sailor Moon managed to throw her tiara at him, knocking him back preventing him from finishing her off.

Again, Thrul recovered rather quickly from such an attack. Sailor Moon's tiara was nothing to be reckoned with, but he was taking to it with merely a pinch of salt and a few grins on his face. Right as he was about to counterattack, he caught Sailors Mars and Mercury from the corner of his eye sneaking up on him.

"Fire... AAGH!!!" Sailor Mars yelled as Thrul had launched a beam of dark energy at her, knocking her back into another vehicle.

"Shabon Spray!" Sailor Mercury yelled, sending a volley of bubbles at him, striking him in the face and fogging up his vision. This allowed Sailor Moon to once again launch her tiara at him, giving him some more frequent flyer miles to add to his tab.

And once again, he recovered from such a powerful attack as hers as if he had just tripped and fell. In response, he held his hands high in the air, with a large ball of energy forming above his head. With his target in sight, Thrul launched the ball of energy at Sailor Moon, knocking both her and Sailor Mercury back into the same van Sailor Moon was first launched into.

"Time to end this," said Thrul as he drew a thin-bladed rapier and approached Sailor Moon, who was struggling to recover Thrul's onslaught. But as he had neared his victim, a rose flew into the ground between them, stopping him dead in his tracks. Thrul glanced in the direction from which the rose came, spying a man in a black tuxedo and black and red satin cape on the second floor balcony of a nearby building.

"Curse you and your ways of evil, minion of the Dark Kingdom," he stated, beginning one of his array of trademark witty speeches, "Destroying the peace and tranquility the people share is disgraceful. However, taking their life energy for use as your own is something I spit upon."

Thrul merely cocked his head in almost complete stupor, as if he were more disgusted at what he was hearing than confused. Something did tell him, however, that this stage show freak wanted a fight.

"Sailor Moon, I'll keep him busy. Let the courage in your heart guide you to victory," said Tuxedo Mask, before turning back to Thrul. His next action proved Thrul's intuition to be true as he drew his cane and jumped down from the balcony, challenging him to a duel.

"Humph, I have no time for actors like you," Thrul insulted as he replaced his rapier. But Tuxedo Mask wasn't going to back down from keeping the soldier busy and away from Sailor Moon. He tightened his grip on his cane and charged at Thrul. But as Tuxedo Mask raised his cane to strike, Thrul quickly turned and fired a powerful bolt of energy, as if his finger was a pistol, stopping Tuxedo Mask dead in his tracks and stunning him in place. Then with a strong side kick, he sent the tuxedoed superhero stumbling back before firing another more powerful bolt of energy, giving Tuxedo Mask his own frequent flyer miles.

_Azabu Institute of Technology..._

Meanwhile, Kyodai had driven back down to the university, completely oblivious to the battle that was taking place in downtown Tokyo. Though it was a weekend, with no classes and most of the university's offices closed, he still had to sign out of his on-campus residence and cancel the rest of his room-and-board, now that he was living with his sister and grandfather. It was great living on the campus, being on his own for once. But that environment, where many of the students were busy either partying, having girls over, or carrying on with their mischievous deeds, was something that Kyodai had taken very little interest in.

He was never much of a party guy, as it usually had gotten in the way of either his studies, or had taken up more time than he wanted it to. And in some instances, the after-effects of such parties would've left him either unable to study or unable to participate in soccer practice. And then, he was reluctant to even ask the girls out who were frequenting the dormitories, though a few of his teammates, and even Obake, had cheered him on and urged him to take a girl out. But as far as the mischievous pranks, Kyodai did pull a few of those on rare occasions.

This so-called "college life" Kyodai had heard so much about was merely something that either had gotten other students into some kind of trouble, or would've made Kyodai participate in things he was a little iffy about. It was also something that dragged students away from their studies, something they were very quick to get away from, which was a major Hino Kyodai taboo. It must've been a taboo he inherited from his father.

So for a little while, Kyodai had decided to leave the dormitories, especially since living there wasn't required for the freshmen, and live with the very family he had not lived with in over 4 years. That in itself meant a great deal to Kyodai. Sure he had the family with his aunt and uncle, who took care of him while he was in high school and his sister was becoming a miko, but he had missed the love, comfort, and especially the real sense of family his grandfather had not only given to him, but also to Rei since the day their mother died. He heard from both his sister and his grandfather of how much of a family everyone was becoming after the shrine workers had moved in. It was a golden opportunity to experience a real family for the first time in a long time. He missed his grandfather. And most of all, he missed his sister Rei.

So after signing the papers to cancel his room-and-board, Kyodai left the housing office and was making his way back to his car. But all of a sudden, a strange sense had taken over his mind. It was a strange sense to him, yet somewhat familiar, as if someone had telepathically cried out for help. It wasn't the apparent call for help that was familiar, but rather the sense of evil lurking about that had become well known to Kyodai. Now how would an average college student like Kyodai be familiar with such things that were evil, and causing him to sense a call for help?

Immediately, he decided to forget about his car and run into an alleyway between the university office buildings. Save for a kissing couple, much of the area was empty with many of the students participating in other weekend activities at or outside the university. So after finding a hiding place, Kyodai ducked inside and raised his left hand, where he was wearing an obsidian jewel ring, an old family relic. In an instant, a fiery essence was released as he transformed into a man wearing a maroon tuxedo with a purple-lined satin cape. Immediately, he emerged from his hiding place, jumped on top of the Housing office roof, and made his way toward downtown Tokyo.

_Downtown Tokyo..._

Sailor Venus was trying desperately to keep Thrul busy while Sailor Moon continued to struggle in recovering from her attack. But Thrul had gotten the upper hand as he grasped her throat with both hands, lifted her off the ground, and began choking the life out of her, a feeling that had been plaguing Sailor Venus throughout the entire battle.

However, this feeling didn't last for very long as Sailor Mars blasted him with a ball of fire, freeing the breathless sailor senshi from yet another squeeze. And just like before, although a little slower this time, he recovered quickly from the attack. With Sailor Mars in his sights and vengeance on his mind, he fired his ever so common energy beam at her, knocking her back to the ground. With her lying on the ground, the other senshi and Tuxedo Mask scattered about, and Sailor Moon still struggling to even get to her feet, he drew his rapier and walks over to Sailor Mars. But just as he raised his blade to finish her off, another ball of fire struck him from behind, knocking him down face first, landing almost right at Sailor Mars' feet.

After slowly making it back to his feet from not only that ball of fire, but also all the other attacks he had taken throughout the battle, he turned around to find out who it was that had blasted him with fire. It certainly wasn't Sailor Mars, and it definitely wasn't any of the other senshi since none of them wield fire. But what Thrul did see was another tuxedoed superhero, resembling Tuxedo Mask, standing on top of a nearby building. However, this man wore a maroon tuxedo rather than a black one, and his hair was longer. He barely even had time to react before the tuxedoed man made his next move.

"Inferno Fire..." he yelled as he leaped down from the building, "Dance!" Upon landing, in a split second, he dashed all around Thrul in a swift and aggressive display of choreography, setting everything around him ablaze.

Meanwhile, some of the Sailor Senshi were already beginning to make it to their feet, watching as a rather strange-looking man in a maroon tuxedo was taking it to the weakened soldier almost effortlessly.

"Who is he?" Sailor Mercury asked in surprise.

"I don't know, I've never seen him before," Sailor Venus responded.

Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon jumped Thrul from behind after they had finally recovered. Although weakened a little from the entire battle, plus the onslaught from the maroon tuxedoed man, Thrul managed to throw them off. He then formed his large ball of energy and blasted Sailor Moon, knocking her unconscious again.

In response, the maroon man waved his arms as if displaying some kung fu moves. "Inferno Fire..." he yelled, before throwing them in front of him, aiming right at Thrul, "Beam!" With that, he fired an intense beam of fire, nailing Thrul in the chest and sending him back into another building.

"It's over, agent of the Dark Kingdom. Your evil plot has failed. As you see, the courage of the Sailor Team proved to be too much for you to handle," said Tuxedo Mask, throwing another witty speech. Thrul was too weak to battle back, too weak to shut this poet up. With that, what senshi had recovered began combining their powers.

"Shabon Spray!"

"Fire Soul!"

"Supreme Thunder!"

"Crescent Beam!"

Right as the Sailor Team was combining their powers, the man in maroon decided to join in as well to end this battle, "Inferno Fire, Beam!"

With all their powers striking all at once, the Sailor Team destroyed Thrul, leaving but a couple of armor plates. With the battle over, Tuxedo Mask tended to Sailor Moon, who was then awaking from Thrul's brutal attack. But as for the other senshi, it wasn't Sailor Moon's condition that they were worried about as they turned to the maroon man.

"Alright, who are you?" Sailor Mars questioned.

"Yeah, how come we've never seen you before?" Sailor Venus added.  
"I am Tuxedo Inferno, a warrior of fire and protector of all that is good," the man in maroon replied.

"Tuxedo Inferno? Never heard of him," said Sailor Jupiter, doubtful and with thoughts of deception immediately entering her mind. "Hey Tuxedo Kamen-sama," she summoned. Tuxedo Mask immediately turned to her and began approaching the rest of the group, with Sailor Moon wide-awake and following.

"Who is he?" Sailor Moon asked.

"He claims to be a warrior of fire fighting for us," Sailor Jupiter responded, still glaring at Tuxedo Inferno.

"I DO know him," said Tuxedo Inferno, looking at the approaching Tuxedo Mask and recalling a dream he once had, "I knew him from a long time ago, from somewhere else. He and I used to be really good buddies. I haven't seen him in a long time, but something in me tells me that's him, my old friend from long ago."

"Do you know him?" Sailor Moon asked Tuxedo Mask, wondering if the man in maroon was telling the truth.

"He looks familiar, I mean he's dressed very much the same as me," Tuxedo Mask replied, noticing the details: The maroon hat and tuxedo, the inside of his cape purple, his lavender vest and bow tie, his mask. All are like his except they're a different color. "But seriously, he looks familiar, but I don't remember him. Anyway, I must be leaving. I'm so sorry to leave you so soon. Ja ne," he said as he turned and ran off into the urban setting and out of sight.

With Tuxedo Mask gone, Sailor Jupiter and the rest of the Sailor Team turned back to Tuxedo Inferno. "Alright, Tuxedo Inferno, you'd better not be lying to us," said Sailor Jupiter.

"Yeah," Sailor Moon agreed, lowering her eyebrows at him, "Because we'll be watching you. And if you are lying to us, then there'll surely be hell to pay. C'mon everyone, let's go." With that last word, the Sailor Team turned and walked away, leaving Tuxedo Inferno to his thoughts.

With the Sailor Team gone, Tuxedo Inferno turned and ran back toward the university where he had parked his car. While in an alleyway and hidden from prying eyes, he closed his eyes and concentrated on his ring, returning his powers to it, thus removing his transformation. After making it back to the university, he walked all the way back to his car. With thoughts of the battle on his mind, his first battle alongside the legendary Sailor Team, he climbed into his car and began making his way back to Makoto's apartment as originally planned. This battle wasn't going to deviate him from his plans, even if it was to be one of those dates he rarely ever went out on.

_end of chapter 2_

_

* * *

_...Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't mine, but to Naoko Takeuchi. And God bless that woman for creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment and Cloverway, and all I thank them for is bringing' it to America, nothin' more. But Kyodai Hino/Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, Titanius, and Deanna Kokorono/  
Kokorono Meijin are MINE (in a growling voice). So, please don't sue me. I'm just a lonely man who ain't got anything but his pride. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me.

Have fun Sailor Moon fans,  
Viper Inferno


	3. Chapter 3: New Ally, Or Enemy

Title: Brother of Fire - Chapter 3 (revised)

Author: Viper Inferno

Genre: Action Drama

Rated: PG

* * *

**Brother of Fire **

_By Viper Inferno_

Chapter 3

_Makoto's apartment..._

After the rather unusual battle, the girls went ahead and removed their transformations before even reaching the apartment complex, anticipating Kyodai to be there waiting for them to return. They wouldn't have wanted Kyodai wondering why the legendary Sailor Team would be paying the apartment complex a visit, would they? Nor would they have wanted Kyodai knowing that they, especially his little sister, were the Sailor Senshi. So that was the best course of action for them. Plus it made for great cover too, and made it look to Kyodai like they really were on an errand.

As they approached the apartment complex, sight of Kyodai's old coupe caught Minako's eye. But what had finally prompted her to dash toward it was the man stepping out of it. Kyodai barely had the time to close his door before receiving a near flying tackle from the blushing blonde, her arms instantly wrapping themselves around his chest.

"I'm glad to see you too," said Kyodai as he closed the driver's door and lumbered over to his sister and her friends, with Minako weighing him down. It wasn't that he was dragging her, but the fact that she was hanging on him while she was walking that was weighing down on him.

"Minako, you don't need to hang all over him," said Usagi, who was getting rather disgusted with Minako's rather open and overdramatic display of affection, as were the other girls.

"Fine, I see how you are," Minako replied as she reluctantly let go of Kyodai and joined the other girls, with Kyodai trailing a little bit behind. They all walk inside the high-rise apartment complex and hop on the elevator.

Once they arrived at Makoto's floor, they casually made their way to the door to Makoto's apartment. They were rather silent the whole trip there, except for a few uttered words between Makoto and Usagi, which Kyodai could barely make out even in the elevator. He had spent the whole trip in the elevator standing a short distance from Minako. Sure he was taking her to a movie that night, but he preferred to take it slow with girls, no matter how shy or how outgoing they were. Besides, what better way go catch glimpse of a girl than from a distance, especially since he hadn't gotten much of a chance to get a really good look at her with her throwing himself on him. Their eyes had met just before they had reached Makoto's floor, prompting Kyodai to turn away to hide a slight blush. He couldn't help but to admire her, even if she was so openly affectionate.

Their eyes didn't meet again until the group had welcomed themselves into Makoto's apartment. Makoto immediately made her way into the kitchen, while Ami took her place back at the kitchen table where she was earlier, taking her book out and casually continuing her reading as if she had never left in the first place. Rei took her seat on the char at the head of the coffee table, while Usagi and Minako sat next to each other on a couch in front of the coffee table, and Kyodai sat on the couch across from them.

"So Makoto," said Rei, getting her busy friend's attention. Makoto turned and glanced over the bar to acknowledge. "What are you cooking?" she asked.

"Chicken Cordon Blue," Makoto replied, "I haven't made it in ages. I thought it'd make a for a really good lunch, even if it is a late lunch."

"Oh god, I haven't had that since I left for college. It's my second favorite dish," said Kyodai, "Aunt Ryeka used to make some of the best Chicken Cordon Blue there was.

"Really?" said Makoto excitingly, with her eyes sparkling at the little story he told of how he loved what she was making, "That's one of my favorite to cook, next to meatloaf."

"I like that too," said Kyodai, "Aunt Ryeka made great meatloaf too."

The anxiety just overwhelmed Makoto as she thought to herself, 'A cute guy who loves the same foods I cook, who's strong and athletic like me...' Then reality set in and that anxiety quickly turned to bitterness toward someone else in the room, 'But Minako wants him too... No problem, I'll win him over with my skills as a cook. I don't need to flirt with him and be all over him to seduce him. Next time, he'll be with me at the movies. Oh yes, he will be mine.' With those thoughts in her mind, Makoto walked back into the kitchen to work on impressing Kyodai with the best chicken cordon blue she's ever cooked.

Back in the living room, Minako sat across from Kyodai, her eyes fixed on his face as her foot gently caressed his under the coffee table. His eyes dared not meet hers, for he was a little anxious from her rather friendly game of footsies.

"So," said Usagi, getting Kyodai's attention as he turned his eyes to hers and away from the coffee table, "Have you heard of Sailor Moon?"

"And the rest of the legendary Sailor Team," Makoto added from the kitchen.

"Oh have I ever heard of them," Kyodai quickly replied, though a little enthusiastically, especially since he had fought alongside them. Plus he knew of them long before today's battle. "I haven't met them, but I have a Sailor V poster up in my room," he continued.

"Really?" said Minako, excited that he's probably another Sailor V fan, "Did you know that Sailor Venus was Sailor V, the original Sailor Senshi?"

"You believe that rumor?" Kyodai asked, "Half of the Azabu Tech soccer team are Sailor V fans, and most of them are spreading rumors that Sailor V is back as Sailor Venus."

"Well, what do you think?" Minako asked, turning the attention back to Kyodai.

"Actually, I do have reason to believe Sailor Venus is Sailor V," said Kyodai, "When I heard Sailor V had died in a warehouse explosion, I was in shock. It wasn't just the fan in me saying 'No, she's not dead. She can't be' like many fans thought, rather it was something in me that told me she wasn't dead. I knew she was still alive, but it made me wonder what happened that made her disappear like that."

That explanation only took Minako's eyes off of Kyodai for a moment as she glanced down at the coffee table, with thoughts going through her mind. Her foot rubs also paused. 'Onee-sama... she and Alan... that's why I left.' She shut her eyes really tight and shook her head before turning back to Kyodai, resuming her foot caressing.

"We're great fans of the Sailor Senshi," said Usagi.

"You know, it's odd how we look so much like them," said Minako, "Take me for example. Usagi once told me I looked just like Sailor V. And I said she looked like Sailor Moon."

Kyodai turned back to Minako for a moment, wondering where she had gotten that statement from, once again analyzing her features, "Minako-san, you do look a lot like Sailor V."

"You really think so?" Minako asked, her ears perking up at such a compliment, and from a handsome man such as Kyodai too.

"Yes, I do," said Kyodai.

Minako gasped almost noticeably at his observation, wooed by the compliment. 'Wow, and he admires my beauty as Sailor V, even if he doesn't know I WAS Sailor V,' she thought to herself as she just smiled at the man.

"My favorite is Sailor Moon," said Usagi, returning to the subject of conversation at hand. "She's the leader of the group and is the best of them, though some people may disagree," she continued, glaring over at Rei with that last comment.

"Are you kidding? Sailor Moon's a ditz, not like Sailor Mars. If anyone deserves to be leader, it's someone with a cool, calm, and collected mind, like Sailor Mars," Rei argued back, "Besides, Sailor Mars doesn't whine and cry like Sailor Moon does."

"Hey, at least Sailor Moon is the one who finishes the youma off in battle with that wand of hers," Usagi retaliated, "I don't see Sailor Mars using a wand, or even her tiara as a weapon."

"That's because Sailor Mars doesn't need a wand you idiot," Rei rebuked.

Kyodai merely hung his head in disgust, listening his sister and her friend argue with each other like little children. 'Idiots,' he thought to himself, 'The Sailor Senshi are nothing to fight over.'

Minako was the first to notice Kyodai's rather disgusted attitude when he pulled his foot away from hers. "Uh, Rei-chan, Usagi-chan, we do have a guest here you know," she said, trying to get their attention.

Rei quickly turned to Minako, wearing the same angry face she was when she started arguing with Usagi, "Oh really, Minako-chan? You have no room to talk with your hanging all over..." She cut her sentence off right there when she too caught Kyodai's disgusted look. She let out a sigh and cleared her throat in response as she rested back in her chair, with Usagi sitting back down in on the couch next to Minako.

"So Kyodai-san, who's your favorite Sailor Senshi?" Usagi asked, resuming the conversation.

Kyodai looked back up at Usagi, satisfied that their argument was over. "Well," said Kyodai as he began thinking about each of the Senshi, "Sailor Venus is the pretty one, even when she was Sailor V. I like the fact that she seems to be the most skilled out of the senshi. If she really is Sailor V, then that explains why she seems more skilled than the other Sailor Senshi, being around even before Sailor Moon first appeared."

"Really?" said Minako, ears perking up again as she jumped over the coffee table and into Kyodai's lap, "She's my favorite too. She stands for love and beauty."

Kyodai tensed up as Minako landed in his lap, mostly out of pure shock from a sudden move. 'God, I've never dated a girl so openly flirtatious like her, though I have known a few,' he thought to himself, 'I just hope she's not always like this.'

"Oh, damn that Minako," Makoto swore under breath. 'The second he mentions anything about her as Sailor Venus or Sailor V, she falls for it. Typical Minako,' she thought to herself.

"Anyway," Kyodai said, gently pushing Minako off of his lap, setting her down next to him on the couch, "Sailor Jupiter, though, seems to be the tough one in the bunch. She's the one who's not afraid to take the fight to the enemy. I admire a strong willed girl like her."

That comment prompted Makoto to peek over the bar, though hiding a slight blush from Kyodai's comment, "Jupiter's my favorite Sailor Senshi. It's not only how strong she is, but also the fact that the lightning she wields is a perfect match for her strength and will. And what a powerful bolt of lightning it is."

"Then there's Sailor Mars," Kyodai continued after looking back at Makoto as she put in her two cents on Sailor Jupiter, "If you're impressed with a girl who unleashes the fury of lightning, I love a girl who handles fire so well, both tenderly and furiously. That tells me that she's the one in the group who's both tough-willed and tender-  
hearted."

Rei turned away, blushing at the sound of her own brother praising her abilities as a Sailor Senshi. It wasn't just that, but it was also the sound of her brother complimenting his little sister as if he admired her, at least what it sounded like. 'Why are you thinking that way, Rei? He doesn't know you're Sailor Mars. For all he knows, Sailor Mars could be someone that either he knows or is a complete stranger to him,' she thought to herself, 'I mean I love you, Onii-san, but not like THAT.' She cringed at that last thought as she cleared it from her head and turned back to Kyodai and the conversation.

"But my favorite is Sailor Mercury," Kyodai continued.

That sound caught Ami's attention as she peeked her eyes over her book, blushing ever so subtly so as not to grab the attention of a certain guest, "My favorite Senshi is Sailor Mercury too. She's the smartest of the Sailor Senshi and tends to use her intelligence and analytical skills in battle rather than her powers."

"And guess what?" Kyodai continued after listening to Ami's comments in total agreement, "I actually saw them in action for the first time today."

All five girls turned right at him, eyes wide open in awe, "You did?!"

'Oh God, I hope he didn't see us transform on our way back,' Rei thought to herself right as Kyodai had mentioned seeing them in battle. Then reason settled back in, 'Of course not, there's no way in hell he could've seen us transform. We made sure of that.'

"Yes, I was on my way back here from the university when I witnessed the battle," Kyodai explained, trying to cover up the truth he experienced as Tuxedo Inferno, "So I... parked the car and watched it... with some other spectators. It was so cool to watch."

Minako leaned over to Kyodai and wrapped her arms around him, "Please tell us about it."

"Minako-chan, we've seen them in action before," said Ami, obviously disgusted with Minako's over-flirtatious attitude almost as much as Makoto was.

Kyodai didn't know exactly how to explain the battle, except to explain what he saw as Tuxedo Inferno. "They were fighting this one evil guy dressed in black armor, quite powerful. The Sailor Team may have struggled against him but they remained ever so vigilant."

"That's what they're best at," Usagi commented.

"Even Tuxedo Mask was having a tough time with him. I've heard of how well he can distract the enemy in addition to how well he can fight, but it didn't seem to work," Kyodai continued explaining, "The evil guy knocked Sailor Moon out and was about to finish Sailor Mars off when another man attacked him. I've never seen him before, but he looked a lot like Tuxedo Mask except that he wore maroon... and his hair was longer. With his help, the Sailor Team and Tuxedo Mask emerged victorious."

"Oh, you tell the story so well," said Minako, giving him a little squeeze.

"Lunch is ready," Makoto called from the kitchen, with a light chicken aroma making its way into the living room. Minako quickly jumped over the coffee table again and sat next to Usagi, while Rei scooted the chair closer to the coffee table as Makoto brought lunch out to the group.

First, she served Ami, who was still studying at the kitchen table. She then made her way to the coffee table where the others sat. After serving each of the girls, she fixed her eyes on Kyodai's, trying to hide a little sparkle as she handed Kyodai his plate. "Here you go Kyodai-san, try it out," she said, smiling, "Tell me if this compares to your Aunt's."

Minako glares at Makoto with that comment, thinking, 'Oh no you don't. You're not going to try and steal my man with your cooking.'

Makoto only glared back, 'This is WAR, sister.' She then placed her own dish on the table and sat next to Kyodai, teasing Minako even more over that man.

After the group had begun eating with little or no conversation, Usagi gulped hers down in a matter of seconds and casually walked into the kitchen for another helping. "She sure eats a lot," Kyodai said to Rei while Usagi is in the kitchen, disgusted with Usagi's near lack of table manners.

"Tell me about it," Rei agreed.

"Hey Makoto-san, this is stuff is pretty good," Kyodai complimented, not even daring to compare her cooking with his aunt's, being as polite as any gentleman would.

"Thank you," said Makoto, "I'm glad you like it."

"You know, for someone your age, you sure are good when it comes to cooking," said Kyodai, "I wonder how well you make other stuff."

Makoto turned away, embarrassed yet flattered at the same time, 'He does like my cooking.' However, Minako caught that slight blush from Makoto, noticeable only to Minako, and glared right at her. It was going to be competition, competition over the same man they both shared feelings for. However, Makoto was subtler, more elegant with her feelings while Minako was more open and aggressive. But Minako did have the upper hand with the fact that she was going with Kyodai to the movies, while Makoto was just with an old friend of hers, a girl nonetheless.

After lunch, Makoto grabbed each of the plates, doing her best to be as good of a host as she can, even if all but one of her guests were close friends. She once again glared at Minako, accompanied by a shady grin, as she grabbed her plate and made her way into the kitchen.

"That was good lunch," said Usagi to the rest of the group, "You want to go outside for a little bit?"

"Yes, that would be nice," Kyodai replied as he, Rei, and Ami got up from their seats and made their way to the door. "We'll be back in a little bit, alright Mako-chan?" While the trio walked outside, an irate Minako stayed behind, still sitting on the couch and glaring back at Makoto.

"So, trying to steal my man with your cooking, huh?" said Minako.

"Steal?! He's not even yours," Makoto argued.

"He is taking ME to the movies tonight and not you," Minako countered.

"That's because I'm going with my friend tonight," Makoto yelled.

"Excuses, excuses," said Minako, shaking her head, "But he does think I'm cute."

"He never said YOU were cute."

"No, he said Sailor V was cute."

"He doesn't even know you're Sailor V, so what's the point?"

"The point is he likes me."

"Only because you're hanging all over him and flirting with him like you want to get laid right there. I really don't think he likes that," Makoto explained, before countering with another shot, "Besides, he likes my cooking."

"What are you talking about? Everybody likes your cooking."

And there they argued some more, each trying to yell over the other, to prove the other wrong, or prove something true. Then Usagi walked back inside, right in the middle of their argument.

"Excuse me," said Usagi, trying to get their attention. But the two just continued egging each other on, oblivious to the odango-haired girl standing there.

"Excuse me," she summoned, a little louder this time in hope that they would hear her and acknowledge her. But it was useless as Usagi balled up her fists in frustration. "HEY!" she yelled, nearly shaking the entire apartment. The whole floor probably heard her, so there was no way those two couldn't have heard her that time.  
It did work as Minako and Makoto stopped their arguing and looked at Usagi. "Yes?" they said in unison.

"What are you two fighting about?" Usagi asked, dumbfounded.

"Nothing," they replied in unison.

"Come on, we gotta get going," said Usagi.

"Where to?" Makoto asked, wondering why they were leaving for the second time that day. The movie wasn't until that night anyway.

Usagi shook her head in disgrace as she walked over to her friend and whispered into her ear, loud enough to where Minako could hear as well, "Senshi meeting, you idiot. We can't have Rei's brother here while we discuss the battle. He'll get suspicious."

"Oh," Makoto replied, while Usagi winked at Minako, making sure Minako got the message as well.

Both girls stood back up, their attitudes totally changed as they had stopped with their evil glares at each other, concentrating on a more important task at hand. They followed behind as Usagi walked back outside, where Kyodai, Rei, and Ami were waiting.

"Kyodai-san, I'm sorry to cut this short, but Minako and I have an errand run," said Usagi, trying her best not to look suspicious with the five of them always leaving.

"Oh it's alright. I'm going to the arcade with Mamoru anyway," said Kyodai, "You girls go on ahead."

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Kyodai-san," said Usagi, bowing to him respectfully and actually remembering her manners this time.

"It was a pleasure meeting you as well," said Kyodai, "Rei-chan has good taste in friends."

"I'm looking forward to tonight," said Minako after walking out the front door.

"Yes, I'll see you tonight, Minako-san," said Kyodai, bowing to her before he turned around and made his way to the elevator.

"Same here, Kyodai-san," Minako replied, returning his bow.

Right as the elevator door closed behind Kyodai, the girls turned to each other. "Okay, Kyodai-sama is gone now," said Minako, "Where are we going for our little meeting?"

"Come inside, we'll discuss it here," Usagi replied as she walked inside.

The girls sat around the coffee table while they discussed today's events. Usagi sat in the chair at the head of the coffee table, while Makoto and Minako sat at a couch next to the table, and Rei and Ami sat on the other side of the coffee table. This setting made for more of an executive board meeting.

"The Dark Kingdom is definitely up to something," said Usagi, "They've been getting more aggressive as of late."

"Tell me about it," Rei agreed, "We've seen these soldiers being used before, mostly recently. We only saw our first one right before we met Minako. But this Thrul is one of the toughest enemies we've had to face."

"It's not just the soldiers. It's the appearance of Tuxedo Inferno that really bugs me," said Makoto, "He has to be a minion of the Dark Kingdom."

"Now why the hell would the Dark Kingdom send somebody to kill one of their own?" Rei asked.

"He did help us defeat Thrul, that's what matters. But somehow I still don't trust him," said Usagi, "I mean he says he remembers us, but we don't remember him."

"He also said he remembered Tuxedo Mask from way back," said Minako, "But even Tuxedo Mask said he didn't remember him. Plus, I've never seen the guy before."

"Do you think Luna could remember him?" Rei asked.

"I don't know, but we could ask her," Usagi responded as she pulled her communicator out. "Luna, could you sneak out and scurry over to Makoto's apartment?" she said to the image of the crescent-headed black cat on the screen.

"For a Senshi meeting?" Luna presumed, taking into account today's battle.

"Yes Luna." Usagi replied.

"I'll be there. Tell me about it when I get there," said Luna as she broke the connection from her end.

Usagi put her communicator away and decided to hold off the rest of the conversation about Tuxedo Inferno until Luna arrived. Until she arrived, they decided to keep the focus of the meeting on their battle with Thrul and the Dark Kingdom.

"How was Thrul able to withstand most of our attacks for so long?" Minako asked.

"He seemed to have some kind of resistance to most of our attacks," said Ami, "Even Tuxedo Mask's usual tactic for distracting the enemy and cheering us on had no effect until we weakened him."

"You mean until Tuxedo Inferno jumped in and helped out," Makoto added, "This is all too circumstantial."

"Makoto-chan, lay off your suspicions," said Minako, "We don't even know if he is with the Dark Kingdom."

"Yeah, remember that WE weakened Thrul before that Tuxedo Inferno finally got to him. That allowed us to finally defeat him," said Usagi.

Suddenly, there is a scratch at the door, followed by a rather loud meow. "Luna's here already? That was quick," said Usagi as she ran to the front door. She opened it, seeing a black cat walking around in front of the door.

"Luna, where's your crescent?" Usagi asked, noticing that the cat had no crescent on its head. It looked like Luna, though.

"That's just a regular house cat, Odango," said Rei, "It's probably somebody else's cat that had just gotten out or something."

"Oh yeah, one of the tenants down the hall owns a black cat," said Makoto, "He's always getting out, though." Makoto laughed at that comment, "But at least he finds his way back home."

Right before Usagi closed the door, feeling the embarrassment from mistaking that cat for Luna, another meow sounded down the hall.

"That's Luna," said Usagi excitedly, shaking off the embarrassment as she opened the door to let the cat in. Luna dashed past the other cat, almost receiving a swat in the face from surprising it, and quickly hopped onto Ami's lap. Usagi closed the door walked back over to the empty chair she had gotten up from and resumed the meeting.

"So Usagi, what business are we discussing?" Luna asked.

"We're talking about today's battle, what do you think we're discussing," Usagi responded sarcastically.

Luna hung her head, sweatdrop hanging and all, "I know, you idiot. I meant what about today's battle?"

"Well, Thrul was sure a tough one to beat," said Minako.

"Yeah, his lightning attacks were more powerful then mine," said Makoto.

"And he recovered from all of our attacks rather quickly," Rei added.

"That sounds typical of the Dark Kingdom," Luna commented, "When one set of monsters fails to kill you, they send stronger ones after you."

"But they're getting more aggressive in their attacks every time," said Usagi, "This is only the third soldier we've had to fight, and he was the strongest one."

"They all were powerful, Usagi-chan," Ami commented.

"And your point is?" Luna asked.

"Something is going on if they're sending the Dark Kingdom's soldiers after us," Usagi replied, "It's definitely more aggressive than even turning people into monsters."

"What else is it the Dark Kingdom wants other than to release themselves from the prison Queen Selenity locked them in," Luna commented, "However, with Thrul being the strongest soldier you've faced, there are bound to be more. And you can bet they'll be stronger than Thrul."

"Thrul's power wasn't all that bothered me," said Minako.

"Yes, the reason Usagi called you down here in the first place. An unusual man appeared in the middle of the battle and helped us take him out," Ami added.

"And peculiarly so easily," Makoto added.

"He calls himself Tuxedo Inferno," said Rei, "He looks like Tuxedo Mask only dressed in maroon."

"He's nobody we ever knew, past nor present," said Makoto.

"I don't trust him either Luna," said Usagi, "He claims to be on our side, he claims to know us, but it's like Makoto said, we've never seen him before in our lives. And she is right that he made his part in the battle look a little too easy."

"Do you know anything about this Tuxedo Inferno?" Ami asked, trying to stay with the reason Luna was summoned.

"I can't be certain. Describe him," Luna replied.

"Well, like Rei said, he's dressed like Tuxedo Mask, only in maroon. His hair was longer and he used fire attacks," Usagi described.

"Now that you describe him, he sounds familiar. The man using fire attacks is what strikes me as familiar. But I still don't remember what or where from," Luna replied.

"So you don't remember either," said Rei.

"I'm sorry, Rei-chan. I don't," said Luna, hanging her head in sorrow.

"With his appearance and the ease of his fighting, could he possibly be working for the Dark Kingdom?" Makoto asked.

"It's unlikely since he did help you defeat Thrul," Luna replied.

"He says he knew Tuxedo Mask from a long time ago, but Tuxedo Mask doesn't even remember him," Usagi described.

"Now Usagi-chan, you know better yourself that he has little to no memories of that 'Long time ago'," Luna reminded.

"Rei-chan, you could do a fire reading," said Usagi, "You have that sixth sense of yours that's helped us out a lot."

"We don't even know if he's an enemy or not," said Rei, "A fire reading would not do much good. But I'll try tonight and see what I can learn."

"Aren't you spending time with your brother tonight?" Usagi asked, "You looked really excited about him moving back in with you."

"You girls can go on without me," said Rei, "Kyodai can go with Minako."

"And I'm still taking my friend out," Makoto added.

"Besides," said Rei before a slight feeling bashfulness took to her, with her cheeks hinting at it, "I sort of don't have anyone to take."

"Then it's done," said Luna, "You girls are pretty good at not letting the Dark Kingdom ruin your daily lives. Rei-chan, try and find out what you can on this Tuxedo Inferno. You other girls, keep your communicators handy. Like I said, I doubt this'll be the last of those soldiers."

Luna hopped down from Ami's lap as Usagi walked back to the front door to open it for her. "Damn I regret this, but I'll have to tell Kyodai that I won't be joining him tonight," said Rei.

"Did you have other plans with him before we brought up our movie plans?" Usagi asked.

"Not really," said Rei, looking away a little bit, "I mean I haven't seen my brother in months, when he usually visited every couple weeks."

"I'm sorry, Rei-chan," said Minako, sensing Rei's disappointment, "It's my fault."

"No, it's not that," Rei reassured, "The Dark Kingdom and this Tuxedo Inferno are on my mind too. That sort of makes tonight feel a little bit better. You go on ahead and have fun with my brother tonight."

"Oh you can bet on that," Minako replied as she began walking toward the door behind Ami and Usagi, "I'll see you later Rei-chan."

With that, all 4 girls left Makoto's apartment and made their way back to their own homes, getting ready for the night's events full of fun, relaxation, and hope that the Dark Kingdom wouldn't turn it all into a living nightmare.

_Later that night (7:15 p.m.)..._

It was nearing the time for Kyodai's date with Minako, though he was somewhat reluctant to show any excitement over it. He just thought of this date as just another one of those times he'd take a girl to dinner or to a movie, which most of the time never went any further than that. But for all he knew, Minako was excited as hell with her big date with Kyodai. Just the way she flirted with him almost the entire time he was there was what had brought him to that conclusion. So Kyodai walked into the living room, still wearing his maroon slacks and sport coat. It was descent enough attire for a movie with a girl.

"You ready, Rei?" he summoned, letting his sister know he was ready to go, figuring she was getting ready herself.

Rei was in her room, but she was far from getting ready to spend at least some time with her brother before Minako would take that time away. She was in her red and white miko kimono, preparing for her rather unscheduled fire reading, which was nothing unusual to her. But Kyodai, however, knew little about even her scheduled fire readings. So it was no wonder that Kyodai had asked about her being ready to leave.

Rei had to come up with an excuse and fast. She hated it, she regretted having to ditch him like that, but at least Minako would help keep him some company, well a lot actually. She walked out of her room in response to Kyodai's hail.

"Rei-chan, you're still in your kimono?" said Kyodai, wondering why she didn't look near ready to go, "We're leaving in 5 minutes."

"Oh, Kyodai. I'm so sorry I forgot to tell you. I had something planned for tonight," Rei replied with a good enough excuse, "I'm sorry, I was so excited about you being back living with us that I totally forgot." She had grabbed onto his sport coat with both hands, practically begging forgiveness.

"Rei, calm down. It's alright," Kyodai reassured, "I sometimes forget things too. We can go to the mall tomorrow if that's alright with you." That left him to deal with Minako alone that night. Whenever he did date a girl, it was usually in a double date with one of the few close buddies he had. But tonight, he would've rather had his sister there with him to keep Minako in line. Better yet, it would've been great to have either just him and his sister hang out at the mall that night, or at least some quality sibling time. But he couldn't turn down Minako's pleas to take her with him to a movie, fearing he'd hurt her feelings or even make her mad at him. He surely understood why Usagi seemingly didn't care for Mamoru too much as cold as it had sounded like he was toward her. Then again, he had never known Mamoru to be that cold toward any girl. As for the time he would rather have spent with Rei, there was always tomorrow. And tomorrow suited him just fine.

"Sure Kyodai, thank you," Rei replied, feeling more at ease as she wrapped her arms around him, giving him a nice sisterly hug.

"I love you, Imuto," said Kyodai, returning his sister's hug. He then took his keys from a table in the living room and walked out the front door as Rei made her way toward the temple.

Earlier, the small group had planned to meet at Makoto's before their trip to the downtown theater. That made it easier for the group since Makoto lived closer to downtown than Usagi and Minako. So that was where Kyodai was driving. It didn't matter to him where he picked Minako up from since he was the one who had a car and town driving never really bothered him that much.

Besides, Minako would be the first girl he actually went on a date with since high school. One would think that at a college, girls would flock all over him and Kyodai would actually crawl completely out of his shell. And girls did throw themselves on him too, especially the freshman girls who praised and revered the only freshman starter, and had the hots for him too. But Kyodai's excessive studies and time spent on the field dominated much of his time. So the flocks of lovely ladies were definitely not on his list of priorities. So being in college didn't make Kyodai any less reluctant to ask a girl on a date.

So this particular date was something for him to experience all over again, even if he was a little nervous about it. Kyodai thought about this during his drive to Makoto's. It wasn't the fact that Kyodai didn't take much time to date girls that made him reluctant to go with Minako, but rather it was her seemingly immature nature and over-  
flirtatious advances that made him even more reluctant to date her. She was a 14-year-old for God's sake. But somehow, he saw through that boy-  
crazy immaturity and saw that Minako was, in all reality, more serious and more mature than any of the other 4 girls, his sister included. Perhaps that was what made Kyodai say yes to her wanting him to take her to the movies. Kyodai only hoped his sixth sense wouldn't fail him and turn this date into a disaster.

Minutes later, he arrived at Makoto's apartment. He easily found a parking spot in the visitors parking area, and in the same spot he had parked in earlier that day. He stepped out of his car and walked up to the front door. But just as Kyodai had walked inside, the sight of a familiar figure caught his eye, almost startling him. Standing right next to the elevator was Minako, watching the front door like a hawk, and waiting for Kyodai to walk through it. He certainly wasn't expecting her to be standing in the foyer waiting for him.

Her clothing was quite different to what it had been earlier. She was wearing a lighter lavender dress, with the skirt cut almost a quarter-way up the knee. Beautiful blue and soft violet flowers adorned various spots on the dress, giving it less of a bland look. And her neckline was round-cut modestly between her bust and her throat. And to top it all off, she wore white cross-strapped sandals, with the heels just high enough to give her a slightly noticeable boost in height. However, Kyodai couldn't make out the sleeves, wondering if they were long or short, since she was wearing her blue denim jacket over it. It was quite appropriate since it wasn't exactly going to be on the warm side that night.

Minako actually didn't dash toward him like an Olympic sprinter to much of Kyodai's surprise, but rather smiled at him and casually walked toward him as he approached her. As they met, Minako lightly wrapped her arms around him and laying her head on his chest. Kyodai tensed up for a minute as Minako hugged him, but then relaxed in almost an instant before returning her embrace. "Are you alright, Minako-san?" he asked, "You were literally throwing yourself on me earlier today."

Minako released her hold on him and looked into his dark amethyst eyes. "I'm fine," she replied, "Really." Minako then wrapped her arms around his left arm and held it close to her body, "Shall we go now?"

"Already?" said Kyodai, wondering what hurry Minako was in to get to the movies, "Shouldn't we wait for Makoto and Usagi?"

"Usagi isn't coming," Minako replied, loosening her hold on his arm, as she looked away, "The idiot she was supposed to be going with dumped her for another girl."

"Really?" Kyodai asked.

"Yeah, and what was worse is that she didn't find out until she called him an hour ago," Minako continued, which explained to Kyodai the reason she had looked away when Kyodai asked about Usagi. Kyodai surely didn't need his sixth sense to understand what Minako was feeling, as it literally screamed out how disgusted she was at the guy. "When she heard it, she started crying like you wouldn't believe. I'm surprised ships didn't try to dock here with that foghorn wailing she was causing. Please forgive my language, Kyodai-san, but that guy really pissed me off leaving her like that for another girl."

"Apology accepted," said Kyodai in response, "I can see why anybody would be upset at that."

"Yeah, it's bad enough she has to put up with Mamoru, but at least she deals with him, and for a good reason too. But this guy was supposed to be a guy she could go and see a movie with, a guy she could spend a romantic time with, even if she does prefer another guy over him," Minako explained.

"What are you trying to say?" Kyodai asked, trying to piece together what Minako was saying as they made their walk out toward his car.

"This was supposed to be her first date, Kyodai-san," she replied, "And that bastard took that away from her and gave it to another girl... I'm sorry, Kyodai-san." She apologized again after letting another word unbecoming of a lady slip out.

"No wonder you're acting a little different," said Kyodai as they reached his car. Actually, this behavior struck Kyodai as that of the more mature side of Minako he had sensed, perhaps a little too mature for a girl her age. She had expressed to him concern for her friend and anger toward the person who woefully upset that friend. In addition, she didn't even give hint to the boy-crazed, playful, and teasing side of her.

Kyodai gladly opened the car door for Minako, which drew a few sparkles from her eyes at his kind gesture. 'And he's a gentleman too,' Minako thought to herself as she gladly stepped inside and took her seat, not surrendering her dreaminess to her concern for Usagi that easily. Kyodai walked around the back of his car and opened the driver's door before sliding inside.

"So where's Makoto, if you don't mind me asking?" Kyodai politely asked, going back to his original question.

"Makoto went to take Usagi to Ami's," Minako replied, "She's still coming with us, but she'll be a little bit late getting there."

"I see," said Kyodai as he started his engine and put the car in reverse. He backed out of his nice little parking space, shifted gears, and left the parking lot just as easily as he had gotten into it. After that, it was off to the Downtown Theater. The trip, however, gave the couple plenty of time to continue their conversation. This was something that Kyodai gladly welcomed, as it helped to distract him from his feelings of anxiety. Plus, it helped to keep the conversation away from how cute he was, what he liked, and other 'let's get to know each other' questions.

"How could someone ditch Usagi like that, and right as she was getting ready for her big date?" Kyodai asked while he drove.

"Well, he's the type who wants to be seen with the popular cheerleaders and not girls like Usagi," said Minako, "He's one of those big shot soccer players at the school who're so full of themselves. No offense."

"None taken," Kyodai honestly replied, "Sure I was a star soccer player when I was in high school, but I never dated any of the cheerleaders." That attempt of keeping the conversation away from him had failed. Bringing up him not dating cheerleaders had gotten him thinking about his high school days. Mostly though, he thought about the few girls he had actually taken to lunch, or dinner, or the movies. It wasn't often that he had done so, but almost every time had had taken a girl out, he enjoyed it. He enjoyed their company, the time they spent together, and even the occasional kiss from a select few. Those thoughts right then were making Kyodai wonder why he didn't date girls more often, and why he didn't start searching for that girl in his dreams. Perhaps this date with Minako was to be the beginning of that search.

Moments later, Minako noticed the rather spaced-out look on Kyodai's face. He was driving fine, but he had all of a sudden gone silent after his last sentence. "Kyodai-san, are you all right?" she asked.

Kyodai snapped out of it and turned to Minako, "I'm fine." Then he turned back to the road, looking as if he were about to fall back into that trance. In response, Minako took a hold of his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. This prompted Kyodai to turn back to her at the stoplight, where he smiled at her and returned the gentle squeeze. 'He'll be fine,' Minako thought to herself, smiling back at him.

_Downtown Theater..._

It wasn't long after the end of that conversation that they made it to one of the downtown movie theater. The parking lot was rather crowded, and free parking spaces were hard to come by. This didn't surprise Kyodai at all since a crowded theater was usual for a Saturday night. Nevertheless, he did find a place to park, even though it was toward the back of the parking lot. Once parked, Kyodai got out of the car and walked to the passenger side, being a true gentleman and opening the door for Minako. She took his hand in hers as she let herself up and out of the car.

While on their way across the parking lot toward the ticket booth, Minako wrapped her arms around Kyodai's left arm and lightly leaned on it. It was then that they discussed what movie it was they were going to watch.

"How's 'Wizards of the Starlight'?" Kyodai asked.

"Nah, something with a little more... romance," said Minako as she buried the side of her head deeper into his shoulder and pulling herself ever so slightly closer.

"Romeo and Juliet?" Kyodai suggested, "This is a remake of Shakespeare's famous story of how true love brings together 2 members of feuding families."

"Shake-who?" Minako asked, not remembering going over his plays in school.

"Bard Willie," Kyodai replied, wondering how she doesn't know about Shakespeare. Everyone knows about him. "Tell me you've not heard of Romeo and Juliet," he continued.

"Of course I have," Minako replied.

"Well, how about it?" Kyodai asked, returning to the original topic of discussion.

"Nah, too depressing toward the end," Minako replied.

As the couple nears the movie theater, Kyodai scans the names of the movies playing, hoping it would help him decide. Minako, however, was too busy enjoying the short walk with the incredibly cute guy to even notice the billboard. It didn't take Kyodai long to scan the names before one caught his eye, "Ah, something with action and romance. How about Fantasy Gardens?"

"Action and romance, hmm? Sounds good to me," Minako replied, barely even letting up from Kyodai, let alone glance up at him or the movie posters.

"Then again, I wonder what Makoto and her friend are gonna watch," Kyodai wondered.

That question finally prompted Minako let her head off his shoulder and look up at him, "Don't worry about them. Tonight's supposed to be about us."

'Damn, stupid,' Kyodai scolded to himself in his head, 'It IS supposed to be about you and her. Don't you dare ruin this date. It's your first one in over 8 months. Just focus on the time you have with her, and things will go well. Just... hope and pray she doesn't hang all over you and embarrass you in the theater like she did this morning, or even try to kiss you every few minutes. God I hate it when girls do that.'

"Kyodai-san, are you all right?" Minako asked, breaking him from his self-coaching session.

"Oh, sorry, Minako-san. I was just..." Kyodai tried to explain, pausing right when the couple reached the ticket booth, "So, Fantasy Gardens, right?"

"Yes," Minako quickly replied, blinking and smiling in response.

Kyodai then turned to the woman in the ticket booth. "Two adult for Fantasy Gardens please," said Kyodai as he handed the clerk the money. In almost no time at all, the clerk pulled up two tickets and handed them to the rather calm couple. "Enjoy the movie," she said.

With tickets in hand, they walked into the theater immediately walked up to the doorman. Without second thought, Kyodai hands him their tickets. "Theater 12, to your left. Enjoy the movie," said the doorman, tearing their tickets and returning to the couple their stubs.

They casually walked down the hall and into theater 12. It was still a half-hour before the movie, and there was already a rather large crowd filling the seats from wall to wall. It took a little bit of walking before Minako spotted a number of empty seats more toward the back of the theater. They squeezed themselves through a few people before they finally made it to the cluster of empty seats. Relieved, the couple finally took their seats.

"New stadium seating, huh?" Kyodai commented, making note of the new stadium-style seating that had recently become a trend in America and Europe, "They never had these when I was still living here."

"They remodeled 3 of the theaters last year," said Minako, knowing this all too well with how much she loved to go out to movies. Almost immediately after the couple had taken their seats, more people filed inside and scurried to the empty seats like packs of hungry rats. It wasn't very long before the theater empty seats ran scarce.  
"Nice crowd, must be a big movie," Minako commented.

"A new one called 'The Starlight Warrior', is coming out next week," said Kyodai, "It's supposed to be bigger than even 'Black Velvet Cruise'."

"Another romance?" Minako guessed.

"Sort of. I saw the trailer for it a couple weeks ago when I saw 'Black Reign.' It looks to be full of action, adventure, and romance," Kyodai explained.

"Sounds like a good movie," said Minako. "I wanna see it."

The movie came on minutes later. 'Fantasy Gardens' seemed to be more of a fantasy adventure than a true romance or a true action movie. But it did have both, and that suited the couple just fine. Besides, Kyodai was a sucker for adventure stories, so he was more than content with this movie.

Later, in a slightly romantic scene, Minako gently rested her head on Kyodai's shoulder. It had been a long time since she had been this close to a guy. In fact, the last place where she was this close to a guy was back in England. With that slight display of affection, of desire to be close to Kyodai, came mixed emotions. She was very much content to be this close to Kyodai, one of few guys who actually saw something beyond her usual fun-loving attitude, as well as her more childish traits. Yet, it also brought back some more painful memories, namely those of Alan. He was the only other person who loved her for her, and not just the fact that she's a cute and innocent young girl.

Kyodai, after having convinced himself to go with it, and after determining that Minako wasn't desperately trying for a kiss, wrapped his arm around her shoulder. This return of affection prompted Minako to wrap both arms around his chest, which caused Kyodai to tense up for a minute from her immediate and more profound display of affection. 'It's all right, Kyodai. She just wants to snuggle up to you and enjoy the movie, with your company,' he told himself in his mind, again giving himself a little coaching. This was his first date in a long time as well, so he really didn't want things moving too fast on their first date. With a girl snuggled up to him, and a movie that Kyodai was starting to like, he figured this first date was going to go quite well.

However, an hour into the movie, the sound Minako's communicator interrupted their almost perfect evening. Minako immediately let go of Kyodai and sat up in her chair after letting herself off of him.

"You've got a pager too," Kyodai commented, remembering Usagi's pager. And since Minako's pager sounded the same as Usagi's, he figured that it was probably her wanting to call Minako and ask her how the date was going. Kyodai almost cringed at the thought of two girls sharing the very intricate details of their date, just like typical girls.

Minako opened the left side of her jacket, pretending to really have a pager in her inside pocket. Then she regretfully looked back up at Kyodai, "Kyodai-san, I'm sorry. I'll be back, okay?" She then got up from her seat and barely squeezed through the row of knees and legs. Once she made it to the aisle, she walked swiftly up the aisle and left the theater, apparently in a big hurry. Though it did make Kyodai wonder why she was in such a hurry, and what kind of phone call would've prompted her to be in one.

Once in an empty and secluded corner near one of the theater's side exits, Minako pulled her communicator from her jacket pocket. "Yes?" she answered to whomever was on the other side.

"Minako-chan," Luna replied as her image appeared on the miniature screen, "Rei found nothing from her fire reading on Tuxedo Inferno. But, there's a disturbance not far from the very theater you and Makoto are at. Somebody HAS come to avenge Thrul's death, just as my gut intuition told me might happen."

"God, don't these jerks ever give up?" Minako commented, obviously upset at the Dark Kingdom ruining her big date with Kyodai. "I'm on my way," she reluctantly said as she closed her communicator.

'Dammit, dammit,' Minako swore to herself, 'I can't believe it. This is the first time I've been on a date since I left England, and the Dark Kingdom has to show up and ruin it. God I hope Kyodai forgives me. I really hate to have to leave him in the middle of the movie.'

She then began walking toward the front of the theater where she met Makoto, standing at the front door waiting on her. "Did you hear?" Minako asked.

"Yes, Rei called me," Makoto responded as they joined each other and abruptly walked out the front door, "I can believe these bastards are at it again. We can't even have a descent enough life without them raising hell somewhere, dragging us out there to clean up their mess. Let's go find someplace to transform and get this over with."

"I agree," said Minako. Quickly, the girls walked around to the side the building, where there was nobody to be found, and quickly raised their henshin pens.

"Jupiter Power, Make-Up"

"Venus Power, Make-Up!"

_Downtown Shopping District..._

After having transformed and left the theater area in a big hurry, the two Sailor Senshi arrived in a shopping district further downtown, not far from the very theater they were at. So it didn't take them very long with their, super power enhanced running and jumping, for them to make it to the battle zone. There, they found Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury already engaged in battle with this soldier Luna had warned about. This particular soldier resembled to Thrul in almost every way, being clad in very similar black armor although it was more decorated.

"He does look like Thrul now that I see him," Minako commented, "I wonder if all the Dark Kingdom's higher ranking soldiers look like him."

"Never mind what they look like," Sailor Jupiter commented, "Let's just join in, kick his ass, and get back the theater. I'm already missing quality time with a friend I haven't seen since two weeks before I moved to Juuban Junior High."

"Yeah, and I had to leave poor Kyodai behind," Sailor Venus commented as she and Sailor Jupiter approached the battle area, "Every time I do get a date, I have to leave him because these inconsiderate jerks want to start fights anytime they damn well feel like it."

The two senshi, however, weren't alone. Just before they had reached the battle zone, Sailor Mars appeared from out of an alleyway and immediately aimed her pointer fingers at the soldier just like a gun. "Fire Soul!" she chanted aloud as she sent a ball of fire flying at the soldier at high speed.

Unfortunately, the soldier had noticed her right as she released the ball of fire. Acting on impulse, he drew his sword and swung at the ball of fire as if it was a baseball, connecting with it and sending it flying right back to its origin. Sailor Mars barely had time to react, as the fastball slammed into her chest and sent her flying back into the alleyway.

After Sailor Mars was taken out of the picture, Sailor Mercury quickly formulated a plan after witnessing the soldier's rather adept display of baseball. "Usagi-chan, remove your tiara and get ready to attack," she commanded.

Usagi nodded in reply as obediently removed her tiara and stood fast.

"Shabon Spray!" Sailor Mercury chanted, swinging her arms tout to her sides and sending a volley of bubbles flying throughout the shopping district, blanketing it in a thick fog.

"Great idea, Ami-chan," Sailor Moon praised. She then he began spinning her little tiara around, charging it. "Moon Tiara, Action!" she yelled as she hurled her golden tiara at where the soldier was like she was a major league pitcher. The soldier never saw the tiara coming until a split second before it struck him in the chest, knocking him back and draining much of his strength. Sailor Mercury's ingenuity once again didn't fail her.

Out of desperation, the soldier released a wave of dark energy all around him to attempt to blow away this fog. It only proved marginally successful as it merely thinned it out rather than burned it off. But it was enough for him as he caught sight of the two Sailor Senshi and charged at them with what strength he had left. Sailor Moon grabbed her wand and prepared to ward off this speeding bull before a bolt of lightning electrocuted him, utterly knocking him over onto his face.

Sailor Moon glanced up and spotted the two movie goers as they arrived on the scene of the battle. "So you've made it," she commented, "Quick, help us out here. He's gone berserk, though there isn't much of him left."

"Yeah, but be careful, Usagi-chan. An animal is more dangerous when he's wounded," said Sailor Jupiter. Her words began proving to be true as the soldier almost jumped back to his feet in an instant. Immediately, he turned around and dashed at Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus like a raging bull, with his eyes glowing bright yellow.

Sailor Venus immediately threw her pointer finger in the air, hoping to charge her attack before the soldier made it to her. But it looked as if she wasn't going to be fast enough as the soldier was just a few feet in front of her in almost an instant. She flinched hard and braced for impact, somehow knowing subconsciously that she wasn't going to just jump out of the way. But as she flinched, nothing happened. That is nothing except for a rather hot gust of wind blowing by right in front of her.

She opened her eyes to find the soldier not even there, but lying against a broken pane of storefront glass with his armor smoking from one vicious burn. She turned the other way to find Sailor Mars standing in the alleyway, her pointer fingers still aimed at where the soldier was and smoking like a recently fired gun.

That effort proved to be useless as this soldier made his way to his feet as if he hadn't even been shot. It was an attribute that struck the Sailor Team as one like that of Thrul, which made them more apprehensive about this battle.

"Uh... this make take longer than we thought..." Sailor Venus commented, with her hopes of getting back to Kyodai in a hurry becoming very uncertain.

"No it won't," said Sailor Moon as she removed her tiara again, "Everybody, attack all at once, and quickly before he strikes."

"Shabon Spray"  
"Fire Soul"  
"Supreme Thunder"  
"Crescent Beam"  
"Moon Tiara, Action!"

Their attacks strike the soldier almost in sequence, with the last shot coming from Sailor Moon's tiara knocking him down almost flawlessly. He fell on his hands, breathing heavily, but was still not completely down and down.

"What the hell?" Sailor Jupiter wondered.

"That should've killed him," said Sailor Mars.

Still breathing heavily, the soldier then looked up at Sailor Moon, with his eyes glowing bright yellow. "If I go down, I'm taking you with me," he said in a monster-like voice as if he were possessed.

And in an almost an instant, to the Senshi's surprise, his human-  
like body ripped apart as he transformed into an ugly grayish-purple demon. His body was easily three times the size of the Sailor Senshi's, giving him a very distinct size advantage over the Senshi. His bulging muscles easily gave away his massive amounts of brute strength, which made the Senshi aware of his strength advantage as well as his size. And to top it all off, his claws were as long as knives and as sharp as straight razors.

With his first target in sight, the legendary Sailor Moon, he leaped forward, landing right in front of the awe-struck Senshi in a single bound. With his oversized arms, he batted her aside, easily knocking her into a building.

"What the..." Sailor Venus commented, equally awestruck.

"A berserker," Sailor Mercury concluded, not even needing her minicomputer and visor to make that assumption.

Without comment, without even second thought, Sailor Jupiter bum rushed the demon from behind and grabbed one of his oversized arms, attempting to overpower this demon with her Sailor Senshi enhanced strength.

"Mako-chan, are you crazy?" said Sailor Mars, "There's no way you're going to take that berserker on like that.

"Watch me," Sailor Jupiter grunted, struggling with the immense upper body strength of just the demon's one arm. However, just as the demon fought harder against her strength, Sailor Jupiter turned that resistance in her favor and stepped into him, turned, and managed to shoulder throw him into a light post, knocking it over as if it were a twig.

Unfortunately, that little jiu-jitsu move proved useless as the demon recovered rather quickly and blasted Sailor Jupiter with a purplish bolt of lightning, giving the unfortunate Sailor Senshi her frequent flyer miles. That took Sailor Jupiter out of the fight as well, leaving only 3 to contend with this berserker.

'Damn, I have to do something,' Sailor Mars thought to herself. She quickly decided to be the next one up to try and take the demon on. If physical attacks had no effect on it, then maybe their senshi powers would work on him. So with that strategy in mind, Sailor Mars clasped her hands together and aimed her pointer finger at the demon.

"Fire Soul!" she chanted as she launched a ball of fire at the demon, striking him dead in the chest and sending him flying into another light post, knocking it down and setting it on fire with his burning body. Again, the senshi's attacks proved to be useless as he recovered in seconds and effortlessly doused the fire. Then, as quickly as he had gotten up, he dashed at Sailor Mars and quickly snatched her up by the throat with his oversized hands. While holding her struggling body off the ground, he gave her neck a good squeeze, utterly weakening her. And finally, he threw her into a parked cargo truck, denting its door with her body and knocking her unconscious.

Meanwhile, back at the theater, Kyodai continued watching the movie. Minako having to leave in seemingly such a hurry wasn't a big deal to him at first. He figured she would be back soon after calling whomever it was that paged her. So he decided to continue enjoying the movie while he waited for Minako to return. Kyodai actually had gotten to enjoy two things at once tonight, and that was a date with a girl and a movie at the theater. Kyodai loved movies and often watched them on TV when he had nothing else to do at any particular moment. It was his form of entertainment when he wasn't studying or playing soccer. He didn't visit the theaters much, though, except for the one near the Azabu Institute of Technology. And that one was a smaller theater. That small theater fed his need for the newer movies, while the rental place near the college fed his need for all the other movies. But as far as a movie with a girl, he hadn't done that in a long while. So this one was a looking to be a nice experience.

But while after Minako had left supposedly to make her call, Kyodai checked his watch to find out just how long she had been gone. 'Where is she?' he asked himself in his mind, 'I hope she didn't just leave me here in the middle of the film. Was it my fault?' It had gotten him thinking that he had done something wrong, or wasn't affectionate enough. It was a possible reason as to why Minako was in such a hurry to leave. He had his fair share of good dates in the past, what little dates he did go on. But he's also messed up a couple dates and even been slapped by a couple girls.

Then reason returned to him, 'Of course not. She seemed to be enjoying this date as much as me. And surely she would've come and told me if she had to leave for some reason.' It was true, Minako was actually less openly affectionate this evening, though her feelings for him were still there. Kyodai sensed them in her, and that was what had brought reason back to him. And moments later, it was that ESP that was telling him that something wasn't right. After one last attempt to try and enjoy the movie, Kyodai worrying about Minako, especially after he checked his watch again, 'God, I hope everything's alright.'

Just when that thought hit his mind, another feeling suddenly came over him. It wasn't his worries over Minako, worries about his date going bad, or even guilt for somehow causing Minako to leave him. But it was a feeling more familiar to him, especially since it had come to him earlier that day. It was a feeling he couldn't ignore since it was literally screaming at him in his mind, filling his thoughts with a girl screaming in agony, calling to him for help. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and tried his best to fight it off, to suppress it, to make it more bearable. But knew what this feeling was and why it was calling to him, so it was no use fighting it.

"Dammit, why now?" Kyodai swore under his breath, very reluctant to have to leave. 'I'm on my first date in months, and this damned feeling has to show up now,' he thought to himself as she stood from his chair and began squeezing himself past the other people, 'I hope Minako doesn't come back and find me gone, she'd never forgive me. Dammit, what a way to screw up a date.'

He finally made it through the crowd of people and out of the cinema. He then turned down the hall and began running toward the side exit of the theater. Once out, he found only to find a couple kissing by the door, glaring at him as he burst out the door.

"Uh, sorry. Carry on," he meekly said with a slight bow as he turned and ran toward the corner to the back of the theater, hoping no one would be there. When he rounded the corner, relief fell upon him as his hopes proved to be true, "Nobody back here. Good." Satisfied with his makeshift hiding place, he lifted his obsidian jewel ring and concentrated on the power that lied within. In almost an instant, flames surrounded his body as the power in the ring surged throughout. Once the flames subsided, he had transformed into Tuxedo Inferno.

With his sense of purpose in mind, he began running further downtown, following both the sense of evil and the sense of a girl's screams. After a few minutes of running as fast as he could, hopping on top of a city bus, and dashing through alleyways, he arrived in the shopping district where he sensed the call for help. There, a large, muscle-bound demon was holding Sailor Moon in the air, by the throat, while Sailor Venus was blasting the demon from behind with Crescent Beam. Tuxedo Inferno decided to stay in the alley and watch the demon's movements, figuring a way to take this behemoth on.

Sailor Venus' attack caused the demon to wince in pain, but it didn't make him release his grip on Sailor Moon as he held on tight. He turned and ran at Sailor Venus, then batted her into a nearby car. After having taken care of Sailor Venus, he took Sailor Moon and slammed her onto the asphalt, drilling a nice Sailor Moon-sized pothole into the asphalt and knocking the leader of the Sailor Team unconscious.

Right then, Tuxedo Inferno lost his patience. He wasn't going to let this behemoth defeat the Sailor Team, not if he had anything to do about it. So he leaped onto the balcony on the front of the building and then jumped back down, landing right in the middle of the battlefield.

Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter immediately noticed his entrance. "He's back," said Sailor Mercury.

"I see," Sailor Jupiter replied as she balled up her fists and began marching up to the fiery fighter, as if she were going to punch him in the face, "And just what the hell are you doing, fire boy?"

"Move," he said as he waved his hands out to his sides, "Inferno..." A ball of fire appeared seemingly from within his own body and began floating above his head, as if it were controlled by telekinesis. However, Sailor Jupiter was still standing there, taking up a fighting stance and itching for a fight. "I said move, dammit," he yelled.

Sailor Jupiter jumped out of the way, more out of shock than anything, as Tuxedo Inferno waved his arm at the demon, "...Flame!" On command, the ball of fire hurled towards the demon, striking him in the face as he had turned toward the yelling. The demon stumbled backward, wincing in pain, as Tuxedo Inferno drew a sword from his obsidian jewel ring.

Meanwhile, Sailor Mars recovered from her fierce attack to see the maroon-tuxedoed man taking it to the demon with a sword as Sailor Mercury helped out with her bubbles attack. It proved useless as the demon shoved both Tuxedo Inferno and Sailor Mercury back. Sailor Mars lowered her eyebrows and stood tall, then aimed her pointer fingers at the monster, "Fire Soul!" She launched a ball of fire of her own at the monster, doing her best to distract him while Tuxedo Inferno raised his sword, "Flame Sword..."

The demon looked back at the tuxedoed warrior to see fire appearing out of thin air and collecting into his sword, setting the blade ablaze. "Strike!" Tuxedo Inferno yelled, striking the demon with all his strength and sending it on a ride hundreds of feet back. The demon was ablaze, but still struggling to get up. Sailor Venus recovered from her ride into the parked vehicle to see the flaming berserker making one final attempt to lay it all upon the Sailor Team. "Crescent Beam!" she chanted as she fired a beam of light at the demon, finally destroying it as it lied there on the road in a pile of ashes.

With the battle over, Tuxedo Inferno walked over to the fallen Sailor Moon, who looked to be in the worst shape. It was logical since the other 4 senshi were either still standing or back on their feet. He kneeled over the legendary leader of the senshi and checks for a pulse.

Sailor Jupiter protested as she ran toward him, ready to push him away, "You, get your ass away from her."

He turned back to the raging senshi and held a burning hand towards her. "Get back and let me help her," he yelled. Shocked, she back off and decided to let him tend to Sailor Moon. "She's hurt pretty badly. That demon was very unusual. I mean very few can take it to the legendary Sailor Moon like this," he said. The other senshi watched on as he laid his hand on the fallen senshi's chest.

He bowed his head down and began summoning the power of fire within him. "Inferno Phoenix..." he changed as a fiery bird suddenly descended from the sky. It's body was glistened in gold as fire shot from its long wing and tail feathers. It was a beautiful sight for the Sailor Senshi, watching the legendary bird fly gracefully through the air as it descended toward the duo. "Revive!" Tuxedo Inferno chanted aloud, throwing his head back and gazing at the sky. The bird then transformed into pure fire on that command. Tuxedo Inferno removed his hand from Sailor Moon's chest and backed.

He and the Sailor Senshi watched as the flames reached the ground and surrounded Sailor Moon's body, and then disappeared into her. With the boost of energy from the power of fire, she opened her eyes and struggled to get up. Tuxedo Inferno slowly began backing off as Sailor Mercury and Sailor Venus ran over to her to help her up. They kneeled down to her and threw their arms around her, embracing her close. Sailor Mercury then turned to the man who helped Sailor Moon, "Thank you, Tuxedo Inferno."

Sailor Jupiter couldn't take it. She walked up to Tuxedo Inferno, still glaring at him, "You may have helped to heal our leader, but I still don't trust you. How do we know you're not one of the Dark Kingdom's bastard children playing ruse on us."

"You'd better leave before she severely hurts you," said Sailor Mars, joining Sailor Moon and the others. With that, Tuxedo Inferno walked back as flames appeared right behind him, from out of nowhere. He continued walking backward, right through the fire as if it weren't there. After he completely immersed himself into the fire, it diminished, with the tuxedoed warrior nowhere in sight.

"I still don't completely trust him, not yet at least," said Sailor Moon, "He did help us out, so maybe he's not such a bad guy." After she finally made it to her feet under her own power, the 5 senshi jumped on top of a building and began discussing the recent events. "Rei-chan, what did you get from your fire reading," Sailor Moon asked.

"The Dark Kingdom is definitely up to something... something evil, and I believe part of it revolves around Tuxedo Inferno. However, I got nothing on Tuxedo Inferno himself... nothing," she said.

"What if he IS on our side? Then it would be logical to sense something like that. The Dark Kingdom may be after him if he's that powerful. It's something they can use in their favor," Sailor Mercury explained.

"He's definitely an odd character, but quite a good fighter," said Sailor Venus.

"He seems to be very talented in the art of fire," said Sailor Mercury before looking back at Sailor Mars, "I hate to admit, but more talented than even you, Rei-chan."

"He may have helped us both times we've seen him," said Sailor Jupiter, "But I think this is still some kind of a trick. We all know the Dark Kingdom can be very deceptive."

"We'll talk about this Tuesday at our next meeting," said Sailor Moon, "I have to get back home with Ami-chan before Mother worries. Let's go."

"Oh yes, I have to get back on my date with Kyodai," said Sailor Venus as she turned and ran off back toward the theater, "Oh God, he's not going to forgive me." And that was the final cue for the rest of the senshi to separate and go on about their lives.

_Downtown Theater..._

Back at the theater, the movie was almost over, making Kyodai aware of about how long that battle was. After having removed his transformation in complete stealth at the back of the building, he walked front and began looking for Minako, hoping she didn't come back and find him gone before leaving him completely. He checked back inside the cinema where 'Fantasy Gardens' was playing, but Minako was not there. He walked all around the theater, and even checked the payphones. Minako was nowhere to be found. So Kyodai walked back out the front door and leaned against the wall, wondering if Minako really did leave him. 'I knew it, damn this sixth sense of mine,' Kyodai thought to himself, figuring Minako had left after finding him gone. As much as he valued the power he had, the power to fight alongside the legendary Sailor Moon and rest of the Sailor Team, he sometimes saw it as a curse in that it often interrupted the busy life he led. It sure as hell interrupted one of those rare dates he went on tonight.

Minutes later, Minako walked out the front door. She had snuck back inside from one of the side doors after her battle as Sailor Venus. Relieved to see Kyodai standing outside, yet worried about how he may have felt about her leaving him like that, she slowly walked up to him. "What are you doing out here?" she asked, trying desperately to revive her cheery personality and failing.

"Wondering if you had forgotten about me," Kyodai replied, feeling relief himself after concluding that she really didn't leave him. The young girl wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled herself close to him, "I would never forget about you. I'm so sorry I had to leave like that... I had to go... take care of something right quick. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Minako-san, I forgive you. I had to leave and take care of something myself," he replied, before the worry over their date hit his mind, "Some date, huh?"

"Don't worry about it, we can do it some other time, okay?" Minako reassured as she pressed her body against his and gave him a nice squeeze, letting him know she still liked him.

"How about next weekend?" Kyodai asked, "We have school all week, you know. That and I have soccer practices after classes."

"I would love to," she said as she gave him another squeeze, almost to the point of squeezing the air from his chest. She then took a hold of his hand as the couple walked out to Kyodai's car. Once there, Kyodai played the role of the gentleman once again, opening the passenger door for Minako. After she climbed inside, he walked around the back of the car and climbed in on the driver's side.

"I do wonder," said Kyodai, "I haven't seen Makoto the whole time we were there. Where was she?"

"She and her friend saw 'Wizards of the Starlight'."

"So, where to next?" Kyodai asked.

"Home," Minako replied, "It's getting late. Mother may never let me go on a date with guys again if I come home late."

"Understood," Kyodai replied as he started the engine and easily made his way out of the crowded parking lot, with few other cars to contend with. "So, where's your house at?" he asked as he made it to the street.

"I'll guide you there," Minako replied as she began giving Kyodai the directions to her house. The drive wasn't very long, though it took Kyodai out further away from the Juuban District. But in 15 minutes, he made arrived at Minako's house after learning a few shortcuts from her.

The house Minako lived in wasn't bad at all, rather it was a fairly decent house, one similar to the one he lived in with his aunt and uncle. He parked alongside the sidewalk. And like a true gentleman, he walked around and opened the car door for her. "Kyodai-san, I really did enjoy tonight, even though it was sort of cut off at the end."

"Yeah, even though be both missed the last third of the movie, and it was getting interesting too," said Kyodai, with both laughing. Minako wrapped her arms around Kyodai and pulled herself into a tight embrace.

"To be quite honest, it's the first time I dated a guy in a while," she said. She drew herself closer and softly kissed him on the cheek. She then let go of him and walked toward the front door. When she opened the door, she looked back at Kyodai and smiled, "Good night, Kyodai-san." Once the door closed, Kyodai winced and covered his hears when joyful squeals and cheers filled the house and yard, obviously coming from Minako.

"She sure is giddy," Kyodai said to himself as she hopped back into his car. He then started the engine and drove off into the night, toward home, with thoughts in his mind about his date with the cheerful Minako. 'She's not so bad after all,' he thought to himself, 'But she's still young, as am I'

_the end_

* * *

...Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and most of the characters ain't mine, but to Naoko Takeuchi. And God bless that woman for creating such great entertainment for all of us with a lot of free time on our hands to enjoy. The English dub belongs to DiC Entertainment and Cloverway, and all I thank them for is bringing' it to America, nothing' more. But Kyodai Hino/Hino Kyodai, Tuxedo Inferno, Titanius, and Deanna Kokorono/  
Kokorono Meijin are MINE (in a growling voice). So, please don't sue me. I'm just a lonely man who ain't got anything but his pride. Well, y'all enjoy this fanfic and e-mail me.

Have fun Sailor Moon fans,  
Viper Inferno


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